An Inkling of Sympathy
by KibaElunal
Summary: Agents 1 and 2 have continued their work, capturing zapfish from the Octarian forces for the well-being of Inkopolis. However, the Octarians have their own response to their presence: a secret agent of their own. Octoling First Sergeant Lusca works to intercept the two invaders, but after falling into enemy hands, one merciful act may change his perceptions of the rival race.
1. Chapter 1

An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 1

Author's Note: Hey everyone, this is the start of a new series. Splatoon is an interesting game in that there isn't much in the way of lore to work with. However, my friends and I are starting a group of media projects to try to increase our viewer base. I'll keep more on that on my profile, so be sure to check that regularly. At any rate, I hope you enjoy this story. Be sure to check out my other stories, I'll work to update a little quicker from now on. My new novel is almost complete, and the school play I'm writing is almost done as well. As always, I wish you the best of luck in life and literature. -Kiba

My eyes opened slightly, the active camouflage of my Octoling flesh melding perfectly into the ink as my prey continued onward spraying her own liquid hue along the ground. This was the enemy; this Inkling represented the destruction of our very lifestyle.

Closer...Closer...I began to slowly creep behind her, ready to coat her in the specially designed toxin that would dissolve her flesh into goo. She was here to steal our zapfish, without a care in the world that it was the only thing that allowed us to thrive after we'd lost the war with the Inklings long ago.

"Marrie!" A voice called behind her, causing me to immediately dive back into the ink. She quickly turned and put a finger to her lips to shush the approaching companion.

"Shh. It's Agent 2 remember? Do you want to give away our secret identities? You know what Gramps said. If the Octoroids caught wind of our identities it could be the end of us as we know it." She lectured, the new one frowning.

"Sorry Agent 2, I just didn't see anybody around, so I figured it was safe. What are you doing anyway? You know this ink will just disappear in a little bit anyway. No need to coat everything." The dark haired squid placed her hand on her cheek, watching as her partner continued to spray.

"You're too laid back Cal- Agent 1. You never know when an enemy may be lurking nearby. Let's just get the stupid zapfish back to Inkopolis before the station realizes both it and we are gone."

"You're not laid back enough." She muttered in reply as I tightened on my grip on my weapon. It was time to finish off the two while they remained in blissful ignorance.

"You'll never get that fish!" I roared, leveling my blaster towards one just as they both turned towards me with a grin before they began to giggle. I didn't like this reaction, they shouldn't be laughing. "What's so funny?!" I demanded. "I've got my gun in your faces and I'm not going to hesitate just because you're innocent-looking!'

'Agent 1' began to laugh even harder, the other secret agent supporting her as she tried not to fall over. I growled angrily. How dare they make a mockery out of me. My finger squeezed on the trigger and with a click the container indicated that the ink tank was deplenished. But that was impossible! It'd just been filled.

Both agents leveled their own weapons, wiping away the tears of laughter. "Sorry," the pink one responded, "you Octolings fall for just about everything."

"We knew you were there the whole time. While you were focused on me, Agent 1 here snuck up behind you and severed your ink line." Agent 2 taunted, smirking as I tossed away the now useless gun.

"Why didn't you just splat me? That's what you monsters do isn't it?" I demanded, holding up my arms in surrender. "Just kill anything that is an inconvenience to you."

"Because," the first one explained, sticking her nose close to mine. "We know that the zapfish is well hidden, but you're going to find it for us." Just as she pulled back the one dressed in green held up a small tablet that displayed a simple map of the terrain.

"Just touch the spot where the zapfish is and we'll be on our way. We'll even let you go free." She insisted. I did not enjoy the situation I was being put in, but I knew I had to make the most of it. If it were just these two, which I was sure it was, the settlement's militia would easily be able to overpower them. It'd be safer if I sent them there instead.

"I suppose I don't have much choice in this, do I?" I asked with a huff, concealing a grin from my brilliant plan. Reaching out I placed my finger over my home. Now these two would walk right through the front door and it'd be the end of them both. My foolishness would be redeemed and our way of life preserved for a little longer.

However, no sooner had I pressed the screen that a high pitch whistle rang out in the air and a large missile soared through the sky, straight towards the village.

"No." I gasped. "Please you have to stop it!" I demanded reaching for the tablet before the green one stuck her gun in my face. "Please, I beg of you abort the inkstrike!" The pink one looked to her cousin who just stood with a cold expression. "I'll lead you to the zapfish, anything you want, just abort the missile!"

I sank to my knees as the thoughts of all the innocent lives lost because of my hubris ran though my mind. They'd outsmarted me again, I was a horrible soldier. Without a word the pink one reached over snatching the tablet and pressing a series of buttons. "Callie what are you doing?!" Agent 2 asked in disbelief as my eyes went to her in shock.

With a beep there was an explosion in the distance, a large vortex of ink rising to the sky. My home however was in a different direction. "There." She insisted, showing me the map again. "I redirected the missile. Now you're going to keep your word and lead us there aren't you?"

"Excuse us for a moment." The green one growled, tugging Agent 1 by the arm. "Callie, what the hell was that? We had them right where we wanted them." She hissed.

"We've got the way to the zapfish now, it'll be much easier to get there." Agent 1, or Callie, insisted.

The other agent placed her hand over her face. "Are you kidding me? That was the way to the zapfish! Now there's another opportunity to stab us in the back."

The one called Callie looked over her friend's shoulder as I tapped my elbow patiently, unable to move from the small dot of ink that I was trapped in. "I think we can trust this one." She replied. "Besides, did you see that expression? I got the feeling that something really bad would have happened if we let the inkstrike go."

"Bad for them, is good for us." Agent 2 lectured. "You are always acting like a kid."

"And you're always being mean so I guess we make a good pair."

"Ugh!" Agent 2 straightened throwing her hands up in exasperation. Pointing her weapon towards me she set her sights. "You! You're going to lead us directly to the zapfish. No funny business or else I'll splat you myself, understand?"

"Yes." I muttered under my breath. I looked over towards Agent 1 who smiled politely at me. Who'd have known that Inklings were capable of such compassion. I quickly shook the thought from my head. There could be none of that. She still was inclined to take the Zapfish, and for that I had to stop them. Without a weapon, however, there was nothing I could do. I'd find a way to evade them, and when I had the opportunity, I'd simply disappear. They could consider that my repayment for their kindness.

After having walked for some time, I could feel the eyes of both Inklings burning through the back of my skull. "Can I ask you a question?" A cheerful voice called from behind me. I hadn't expected the words, but I turned to look back at her with a harsh gaze.

"Agent 1! Don't speak to the enemy!" The green one lectured, but she ignored her.

"Just one. I promise."

I pondered it for a moment. There surely couldn't be any harm in her questions. "I suppose." I finally surrendered. "What would you like to know?"

"Really?" Agent 2 asked in surprise. "You'd just give up information, just like that?"

"That," I huffed, "depends entirely on the question."

The pink one put a finger to her cheek in thought before her eyes lit up. "Oh! I know. Do you prefer cats or dogs?"

I blinked, unable to comprehend the purpose of her inquiry. "Do I what?" Even her partner seemed taken aback by the odd question.

"That? That's your question?" She asked.

Agent 1's expression visibly sank. "I was just trying to make conversation."

"I don't have a preference, one way or the other." I admitted. "Neither of them are very comfortable living underground, so I don't have much experience with either as pets. Anything else?"

"Ummm…" She paused to look at her partner questioningly. She seemed to silently signal her towards something, and when she spoke again I realized why. "Why do you keep stealing our zapfish?"

"Stealing your…" I replied, almost dumbfounded. "They are not _your_ zapfish! We did not _steal_ anything! If any are the thieves, it is you for taking away the only thing that allows us to sustain our livelihood. You already have the Great Zapfish to power your surface city, do you really intend to take away all zapfish to keep us buried as well?"

She began to sniffle before hugging her friend. "Marie, why is she being so mean to me?!" She wailed.

"She?!" I roared, taking off my goggles and slinging them to the ground. "I am _not_ a she! I am a male! My name is Lusca, a man's name!" The two were stunned into silence. "What now?"

"There are male Octolings." Marie muttered. "I feel like my whole life is a lie. I thought they were all women."

"Everything is so confusing." Callie agreed, circling me curiously. "You still look like a woman."

"It's the stupid armor." I muttered, wishing I could take it off. "Our 'glorious leader' decided it'd be better to have armor that resembled a more feminine shape. Says that it'd 'distract our enemies more'. And while you're right in that most of them are female, yes there are males. It wouldn't make much sense to not have any males."

The one named Marie nudged Callie before whispering in her ear. The two of them shared a giggle that made me uneasy, but Callie just grinned. "At any rate, let's go get the Zapfish. We've got a show tonight, and if we come back empty handed Gramps will have a fit."

"Show?" I asked. The realization began to dawn on me as posters and magazine covers raced through my mind. "Holy cephalopods, you're _them_!" He hissed, taking a quick step back. "What in the world are you two doing down here?!"

Marie frowned, putting her hands on her hips. "Hey! Don't be so rude. It's not like we're the sort of celebrities that think we're better than everyone else."

Stepping forward, Callie took my arm with a grin. "It's true. We're _The Squid Sisters_." Then she paused for a moment, looking around before whispering. "But we're actually just cousins, not sisters."

"I'm so confused." I muttered, using my free hand to massage my temples. "Why are you fighting in a war if you're celebrities?"

"Well, someone has to." Callie replied, the same cheerful smile never leaving her face. "Besides, Gramps is getting on in his years. He's far too old to continue the fight, so when he asked us for help, we decided to take over. We've had far less time to fight lately though. The only reason we're taking this zapfish is we need it for the concert."

The other one chided in as well. "Which is why the faster you get us there, the sooner we can leave you to go back to whatever hovel you crawled out from." Callie frowned at her cousin's tone, but nodded in agreement, tugging on my arm to lead the way.

"Funny, I thought you'd probably kill me, now that I know your identities." I muttered, causing Marie to freeze. Callie's grip tightened on my arm, to the point I thought she was going to rip it off of me.

"Please Mr. Octoling," she whispered quickly, "you must keep this to yourself. The Inklings topside...they don't know about the war with the Octarians. We don't want to see more casualties like in the first war. If they were to find out what we do, they'd send all sorts of soldiers down here." Her words were less intimidating and more desperate.

I tried to tell myself that the world should know the truth. The war needed to happen, if not for the sake of defeating the Inklings, then for the sake of showing the way his people currently lived. But when he looked into her golden eyes, his mouth opened against his will. "I promise. I won't breathe a word of it."

"We can't trust him." Marie growled, leveling the nozzle of her gun towards my face. "We have to splat him, right here, right now. It may be tough finding the zapfish, but it's less risky than letting him live."

I shut my eyes tightly, waiting for the bitter end, but Callie's arm released mine and she stood between the two of us. "Marie, no! He promised he wouldn't, just like you promised we'd let him go."

As the two of them began to argue with one another about what to do, I realized the opportunity I had. Shifting into my octopus form, I immediately activated my camouflage and quickly slipped away. Without my equipment, I wouldn't be able to call in for a super jump back to base or warn them of the intruders. "Wait, where did he go?" Marie demanded, shoving her cousin out of the way.

Callie looked all around herself with a frown. "Great going Marie, you scared him off." She grumbled, causing the green-clothed girl to turn on her seething.

"If you hadn't interrupted, I'd have splatted him and it'd all be over. Instead, you decided to, once again, do something dumb and let him escape! We need to get the Zapfish quickly, before he can summon backup."

"He wouldn't do that." Callie argued. Her blind faith in my loyalty to them was frighteningly naive. Even I knew that I'd have splatted them if I'd had the chance to.

"Open your eyes Callie!" Marie shouted at her. "He is the enemy! He would do anything if it meant keeping us from getting that Zapfish. It's time for you to grow up and realize that this isn't a game! This is war! It's kill or be killed, and if you don't stop treating others like some sort of cute pet, you'll get us both killed."

While I agreed with her, the look in Callie's eyes hurt greatly. It took all of my willpower to prevent calling out to them in an attempt to comfort her. Luckily, Marie took her silence to mean the conversation was over and continued on the pathway to the Zapfish. "Mr. Octoling, if you're still here, I'm sorry if she hurt your feelings. I know you wouldn't betray us. Please, don't be upset with her." A shudder ran through my spine. Even after everything her cousin said, Callie was still concerned about my feelings? It was unbearable to watch as she rubbed her tears away with the back of her hand. "We're going to get the zapfish now. I know you're probably still upset about it, but I'll try to bring it back once we're done with it." She promised. Then, she hurried off after her cousin, leaving me standing there, still stunned by it all.

"That stupid girl." I muttered, watching them both leave. They were going a longer way, it'd be easy to intercept their path. I'd find them at the zapfish and stop them from getting away. It was the only choice I had. Immediately, I rushed to repair my weapon and swam to where I'd ambush them.

I could hear the frustrated grunts of the zapfish in the containment unit behind me. I watched over the battlefield from high above, the color of the sister's ink blasting a clear path in a beeline towards me. Perfect. The fish behind me let out another frightened chitter.

"Shut up. You know they're just going to do the exact same thing to you."

I watched as the whistle of another inkstrike struck the earth below me, causing a massive pillar to erupt just in front of my face. Still, I sat calmly. There would be no camouflage this time. No tricks, no stealth, just face-to-face discussion and if necessary, combat. With a light whoosh, the two girls landed before him with a thud.

In an instant, both had their weapons pointed at the other party. "Told you Callie. He's here to kill us." Marie growled. "You should have let me splat him earlier."

"Hardly. If I wanted you dead, I'd have been camouflaged. You can't very well cut my ink line from down there." He replied, gesturing with his head towards the edge. "I heard what you said Callie."

Marie's eyes narrowed on her cousin. "Callie, what is he talking about?"

The timid Inkling gently tapped her fingers together. "I...may have told him our plan…" She whispered shamefully.

"You did what?!" Her cousin snapped.

"Enough." I barked. "I'm not here to fight either of you, not unless I have to."

The green Inkling marched towards me. "Good, then get out of the way. We're going to take the zapfish. Callie, you and I will discuss this back in Inkopolis." With a slosh of ink, my toxin sprayed in warning at Marie's feet, causing her to leap back.

"You're not taking it." My voice was flat and stoic.

"But you said…"

"I said, 'I wouldn't fight you, unless I have to.' That doesn't mean I'll let you take the Zapfish. There are Octarian hospitals that would be shut down from the removal of this fish, and I can't let you take so many lives for something as ridiculous as a concert."

"It's not ridiculous." Callie protested, stepping forward as well. This time, I did not fire. "This concert may seem silly to you, but for Marie and I, it's everything. Our lives are based on our performances, you can't just sweep it under the rug because you don't think it's as important."

"As important as hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent lives?" I huffed, causing Callie to fall silent once more.

"Innocent? That's a laugh." Marie scoffed.

I took a deep breath. "Those people are not involved in this war. They've made their livelihoods in this crappy hole, and done so without complaint. Their way of life is one of blissful ignorance to the cruelties of this war, and I can't let you hurt them when they've nothing to do with it."

Agent 2 continued to glare at me before once more leveling her weapon. "Well, unfortunately for you, we still outnumber you. I don't mind fixing my cousin's mistakes, so I'll just splat you here and take it anyway."

Callie looked to her cousin, then back to me, before raising her gun as well. Her grip was shaky, and I began to doubt she could do it if she wanted to. "I'm sorry, Mr. Octoling, but we can't go back empty-handed. You don't understand how important this is."

"I'm sorry to hear that." He whispered. Callie shut her eyes tightly, her finger starting to apply pressure to the trigger. "Then I surrender."

Her eyes snapped open in confusion. "What?"

"Don't listen to him Callie, it's some sort of trick." Marie warned.

I shook my head, letting my gun slip through my finger to point at the ground. "You can't leave empty-handed, but I can't let you take the Zapfish. So let's compromise. I'll show you how to get enough energy to power your concert, and at the same time I'll offer myself as a prisoner. Then we both get what we want, understand?"

"No way. You can't create energy without a Zapfish!" She protested, but Callie just stood there in awe.

"Are you being truthful, Mr. Octoling? Can you really do that?"

"I cannot believe you are buying into this Callie!" Marie argued, aiming her gun at me. "I won't let this happen." She snarled, and pulled the trigger. With a click, her gun let out a weak spurt before registering as empty. After I held up the trigger for the disruptor I'd planted beneath her feet, she let out a curse before tossing her gun away. "Fine...I guess I don't have much choice at this point. Prove that you can do it."

I slowly let my fingers reach towards the orb and upon touching it, I felt the familiar tingle being drained into my body. The lights in the complex around us dimmed slightly, and once I felt fully charged I took my fingers off the zapfish and the power returned to normal. "There, see? Fully charged." I explained. "Take me, use me to power the concert. Then I'll return afterward and we'll forget this entire thing ever happened. Fair?"

"Fair." Callie squealed happily, running over and throwing her arms around me in a tight hug. "Thank you so much Mr. Octoling, you've no idea what this means to me."

Marie grumbled, walking towards me and retrieving a pair of handcuffs. "I don't want you running away again." She explained, stripping me of the ink pack and manacling my arms behind my back.

This would be my sacrifice, I decided. I'd saved my world, and this was a small price to pay for doing so. I'd no doubt that they wouldn't hold up their end. The thought of letting me go to blurt their secrets was one that would never cross their mind. I imagined even, acts of torture to make me spill secrets of our own. But my will was resolute. I'd protect my home, no matter the cost to myself.

"Gramps, this is Agent 1 reporting in. We need a teleport originating on our coordinates for three." Callie called into her radio as she began setting up a transmitter.

"Right-O." The buzz came back in response. "I've got fresh crabby cakes awaiting your arrival Agents 1 and 2." I was stunned when a beam of light shone down on us, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself pulled away from where I stood and now standing in a small shack. "Now...girls, I may not be hip to your groovy, new-fangled, tech. But, uh...that's not a Zapfish."

"We didn't get the Zapfish, Gramps. Callie can explain to you why our mission didn't go well." She sighed, hanging her equipment up on the wall and walking into a side room, before slamming the door.

"Callie?" The older man asked suspiciously. "Something you'd like to tell me?"

"Well...we were heading towards the Zapfish as planned, when we found this Octoling waiting to ambush us. So Marie and I, we snuck up on him and cut his inkline before making him send an inkstrike towards the Zapfish, so we could find it easier. But then he begged us to abort it, so I did." With every word, her head seemed to turn further towards her feet as she placed her hands behind her.

"Long story short, sir. I offered myself in exchange for the Zapfish. I'll power the concert, and this way we both get what we want. Please don't blame her, I'm the one who put them in a vulnerable situation."

"I'll talk to you when I'm good and ready." The older man snapped, before his features softened and he turned back to the Agent. "Go ahead, Callie. I want to hear what you have to say."

"Well, he managed to escape from us. So I kind of let it slip where we were going, so he set a trap for us." She continued to explain. "When we got there, he managed to trigger a disruptor so our guns stopped working. He could have splatted us, but he suggested instead that we take him prisoner. He says he knows how to power our concert without a Zapfish, and that way they can keep using the Zapfish to keep their city running. It sounded like a good deal...I'm really sorry Gramps." She finally surrendered, her words now no louder than a whisper.

The older Squid stepped towards her and wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay, Callie. You made a decision, and I'm proud of you for using your head. Assuming your prisoner here is telling the truth, you made the right call. Besides, I'd rather you take any option that prevents you or your cousin from being hurt. My old hearts wouldn't be able to take it if I lost my only granddaughters." So they were related to him. "Now then, let's take a look-see."

The older man came closer to me, his eyes meeting mine as he just stood there. My expression remained blank; Inklings could smell fear. Over the old man's shoulder, I could see Callie sling her pack off her shoulder before placing it on the hook and also entering the side room. Now I was all alone with a man whom I wasn't certain wouldn't kill me. "I'm sorry for eariler…" I began.

"Shh." He interrupted, hushing my statement. His beady eyes continued to pierce my gaze, and for a moment I felt the urge to simply run for it. "You seem like an alright fellow." He finally declared.

"I'm sorry?" I asked puzzled.

"Callie's a sweet girl, but she's a bit naive. Her judgment is getting better, I have deemed you trustworthy." He turned away from me, walking over towards the oven. "Would you care for some crabby cakes?"

"That's it?" What was wrong with these people? Didn't they realize that I was an enemy.

"We also have some orange juice, I think."

"No, I mean, you trust me? All you did was look in my eyes." He pulled the tray out from the oven and set it on the small table off to the side before unlocking my handcuffs.

"Son, when you've been in the military as long as I have, you learn how to read an opponent by the look in their eye. I can tell you don't want to be here, just like you wouldn't want to have the shoe on the other foot." He gave a grin, concealed by his facial tentacles. "Anyway, Cap'n Cuttlefish is the name. What's your name soldier?"

"Octoling First Sergeant Lusca...sir." I added, the words still feeling alien in my mouth. He was right though, the thought of taking prisoners made me sick to my stomach, but not for the reason one would assume. In truth, I was an awful soldier. I hated war, always have. But I couldn't deny that I was good at it.

"Well, 'Octoling First Sergeant Lusca," he began, sitting at the table and munching on a crabby cake, "tell me your plan for the concert. It's very important."

"So I've been told." I muttered, cautiously sitting on the opposite side of him. "Well, Octoroids have the ability to store electricity in our neural system. It's how we power our machines." I wasn't sure if it was alright to tell him these things, but he wouldn't be able to do anything to stop it anyway. "So I absorbed some of the zapfish's electricity. I'll hook myself up to the generator and use that electricity to power it. Then I'll go home and out of your tentacles."

"We'll see." He mused, eating another crabby cake.

"We're ready." Callie sang cheerfully, coming out of the side room with Marie trailing behind. The two girls were now in graceful clothing, keeping their pink and green color schemes. Their appearance was breath-taking, but I kept such thoughts to myself.

Her cousin's glare still pierced through me, much like her grandfather's did. "You girls look fantastic." Cap'n Cuttlefish complimented. "Good luck at the concert."

"Thanks Gramps." Marie replied, scarfing down a crabby cake on her way past. "Are you coming to the concert this time?"

He shook his head. "No, I fear I'm getting too old for your hip-hoppin' rock concerts. Too loud on the old ears. I'll listen to it on the radio though. I'm proud of you girls, I'll be rootin' for ya from the home base." As the two began to leave, he cleared his throat causing them to stop. "You're forgetting two things, girls."

Both of them ran to their grandfather and embraced him tightly. "What's the other thing?" Callie asked.

He jerked his thumb towards me. "You'll be needing this guy to power the concert, remember?"

"Oh...right." Marie grumbled before walking towards me and slapping the handcuffs back on. As she dragged me towards the waiting limo, I realized that this was going to be an odd experience. I could feel the tension that was in me changing; transforming into something else...excitement. I was excited to see the surface world, to experience more of the Inkling society, and more importantly, to find some sort of weakness that I may be able to exploit in the future.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 2

Author's Note: Hello Splatoon community! I was super pleased to receive the positive feedback from the first chapter, so without further ado, I present to you the next chapter in the series. Please, feel free to keep your reviews coming, and if you like I'm always excited to talk to fans. Enjoy, and best of luck in life and literature! - Kiba

As the limo rumbled along, my eyes watched the landscape scroll past me. "Excited?" Callie asked me, a cheerful grin on her face.

"No." I lied, taking in all of my surroundings. Holding up my wrists, the chain of the handcuffs rattled in protest. "Are these truly necessary? Where am I going to go? I'm unarmed, and Inklings don't have much of an opinion of us."

"Us?"

"Octarians." I clarified.

Marie let out a scoff. "Sorry, but we're not taking any risks. We'll uncuff you, but only when we get to the concert. You can do your little electric magic trick, and we'll let you go after that."

Callie, despite the looks of protest her cousin gave her, slipped over to my side of the seats. "I'm sorry you won't get to see the concert." She whispered, her eyes shimmering. "But if you want, we could dedicate a song to you."

"Callie, we're not going to do that." Marie quickly objected, causing the pink musician to visibly sink. "Why do you care anyway? He's our enemy, remember?"

"I don't know." Callie admitted. "I just thought we'd try something nice. He volunteered to help us with the concert, so we should be thankful, right?"

Her cousin shook her head. "I swear, you just don't get it. He's a prisoner! He isn't volunteering for jack. He's doing this because he has to, not because he wants to."

"I'm sitting right here." I chimed in. "And if you recall, I was the only one with a functioning weapon. I gave myself up, but that was just a thank you for aborting the inkstrike. The next time we meet when you're trying to steal one of our zapfish, I'll end you myself. Understand?"

The Inkling that sat beside me smiled and wrapped her arms around mine. "Don't worry, you don't have to act so mean. You're our friend now, so we'll just do stuff for eachother. Ooh! Maybe you can follow us to all our concerts, and we'll set up neon and pretty lights. With you, we won't ever need another zapfish again!"

I tugged my arm from her grasp before returning my gaze out the window. For once, I agreed with Marie. Callie was foolish for thinking such childish thoughts. After this 'oh-so-important' concert, I'd vanish back to my home and relax for a bit, maybe take a vacation from Squad Duty to put this whole thing behind me.

Soon, the roaring of a crowd could be heard outside of the Limo. Marie gave me a harsh glare before giving me an order: "Make yourself scarce. It wouldn't do to have them see you." I returned her gaze with an angry look of my own, but I obliged anyway. As soon as I faded into the leather seat, Marie rolled down the windows.

Her features immediately changed, as with a knowing grin to her cousin, the two began to smile and wave to the masses that had assembled. "This is the best part." Callie whispered to me as she continued to grin and show her affection to her fans. They didn't act like most celebrities I knew. DJ Octavio, one of our celebrities (and Military commanders) was cold and uncaring towards his audiences.

Peering over Callie's shoulder, I could see dozens of signs with their pictures on them. Some would read things like "Marie is BAE" or "Callie FTW", but most of them were emblazoned with the two girls and the words "Stay Fresh!"

"Stay Fresh?" I asked.

"It's our slogan, shut up." Marie replied, her smile not fading as she continued to wave.

"Usually," Callie explained, "we also wave our fingers like this." She demonstrated, calling out, "Stay fresh!" With that, there was a thud against the side of the Limo as a flailing teenage Inkling poked his head into the Limo.

"We love you Callie and Marie!" He screamed before a security officer grabbed him and dragged him away with an apologetic nod to the two.

"We love you too, crazy guy!" Callie called after him. "See why this concert is so important now?"

"To be honest, not really." I muttered, causing her to look sad for a moment before she remembered that the crowd outside could still see her. The grin came back to her face quickly, though slightly embarrassed that she'd let it slip.

When the windows rolled up a few moments later, Marie let out a sigh before taking off her gloves to look at her hands. "That was close Callie, if he'd gotten in…"

"I know." She muttered apologetically. "I just wanted to show Mr. Octoling our 'Stay Fresh' wave. I didn't mean to make the fans go crazy." As they talked, she also looked beneath her gloves cautiously.

"What are you two doing?" I asked. "You don't strike me as the germophobic type."

"Show me your hands." Marie demanded, grabbing the chain of the cuffs and yanking them closer. The unexpected tug caused me to fall forward out of the seat onto my knees. "Did that fan touch you?" She asked.

"No. What's the big idea, anyway? I thought you loved your fans."

"We do." Callie replied softly. "But _these_ fans...we can't let them come too close to us."

"He's clear." Her cousin declared releasing my hands.

None of this was making any sense. "Clear of what?"

"Cryptocaryon Irrithans." Callie whispered.

"Cryptowhat?" I repeated.

"Cryptocaryon Irrithans. It's a parasite, also known as Ich. Water is usually teeming with it, but thanks to filtration it's removed before we get to it. Poor families, however, sometimes get it anyway." Her words were soft and sombre, and I could tell it weighed heavily on her heart.

"It starts with white spots that form on the hands, but eventually it spreads throughout your body." Marie continued. "It's an awful disease, and it's expensive to get treatment. Even with treatment though, it can leave scarring. The parasite has a swift life cycle, but reproduces super quickly."

"How have I never heard of it?"

"You live underground." She explained. "Ich hates warm stuffy places, so it makes sense that it'd either die out before it got to you, or all the filtration your water goes through would get rid of it."

"Which is why we're throwing this concert, so that we can raise money to treat more people who have Ich! We make lots of money usually, so we just put it all back into the community...and clothes...and shopping...and…"

"I get it." I interrupted. "You guys are regular saints."

"It's not just that." Marie scoffed. "This is personal for Callie and me, alright? So don't go making this to be some light-hearted joke!"

Callie's hand rested on my leg, causing me to look into her glistening eyes. "I know you didn't know, Mr. Octoling, but our parents both contracted Ich when we were young. First was my father, then his brother, Marie's dad came to help. When he realized what it was, he sent both Marie and me to live with Grandpa."

"He'd tried to send my mother too, but she refused to leave their sides. It wasn't long before the disease became severe for all of them. They had to be quarantined to prevent further spreading. That's when Callie and I first started singing. We won the folk singing contest to raise money for our parents, then we became sensations over night."

I nodded my head, listening with great interest. "I see. So you treated your parents and wanted to do the same for others? A noble goal, if there was one."

"Shut up!" Marie snapped. "You just don't get it, do you?!" Immediately, Callie was up and beside her cousin squeezing her hand to calm her down.

"He wasn't being sarcastic Marie. Calm down." She whispered before turning to me. "After we had our parents admitted to the hospital, we found out that we didn't have enough money to treat all of them with our winnings." She explained. "My dad was the worst off, so we treated him first, then Marie's dad made us treat her mom before himself."

"I see." I muttered. "I'm sorry, Marie."

"It wasn't just me." She replied. "The treatment didn't stick with Callie's dad. he passed away within the month. My father went alongside him."

"The only one who survived was Marie's mother." Callie explained. "If you could call it that."

"Stop talking about it Callie." Marie warned.

"Wait, please...I want to know." I assured them.

She sighed for a moment before nodding. "Fine. My mother responded to the treatments, but they left her body weak. She still can't leave the hospital, so she's laying in a bed, unable to even move. Are you happy now?"

"Happy is not the word I'd use." I replied, causing her to let out an angry snarl. "But I get why the concert is so important to you now. I'm more than happy to help. Whatever concerns you had about me escaping before, you can be even more assured now that I intend to stay."

"The handcuffs still don't come off."

"Fine by me. You'll have to uncuff me later though, otherwise I can't power the concert."

"How does your trick work anyway?" Callie asked, attempting to change the subject. "I didn't know that Octolings could store electricity in their bodies."

I scratched my cheek, struggling to find a way to explain. "Well...essentially, our brains are a little different than yours."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It wasn't an insult. Watch." I reached up towards my head, where the short crimson tentacles were bound into a small knot. With a grunt of pain, I tugged one off causing both girls to open their eyes in shock.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Marie cried, as Callie covered her mouth in horror.

In response, I simply held out my hand, revealing the tentacle. After a moment, the tentacle leapt from my hand, scooting towards them and causing both to immediately draw their legs up onto their seats. "It's still moving." Callie whimpered. "That's so creepy. Why is it still moving?"

"An Octarian's brain is spread throughout their entire body." I answered. "Because of that, after a piece of us is separated we can still control it for some time. My 'trick', as you called it, involves absorbing electricity into my neural pathways. All I have to do to power your concert is the same way we power our machines. Plug myself in, expel the neural electricity." As I finished explaining, the tentacle writhed for a moment before falling limp. "As you can see, I lose control eventually. The smaller the piece the shorter the time span. Don't worry though, it'll grow back...in a week."

"See? Isn't this n-nice?" Callie's voice was shaking from the demonstration. "We're learning a lot about each other. I told you we could all be friends."

"We are _not_ friends." Marie emphasized. "In fact, the sooner this freak is out of our lives, the better."

"Seconded." I agreed, turning to look as the limo finally came to a slow stop. Phasing back into my camouflage, the three of us stepped out of the car. No sooner had we done so, that a large cat came bounding down the way.

"Meeoww!" He exclaimed, hugging both Marie and Callie in turn.

"Hello to you too Judd." Callie giggled, squeezing the robust creature in her arms. "Are you doing well?"

"Meow, meow meow? Meow meow meow meeeow!"

"Yes, we found a solution to our electric problem." Marie assured him. "Just tell us where the socket is and we'll get everything set up."

His arrow shaped tail pointed behind him towards the back of the stage as he began to meow after them. As we walked towards the area, I whispered quietly to the two. "Can you really understand what he's saying?"

"Yep." Callie whispered back. "It takes some time, but eventually it gets easier. He's a surprisingly helpful manager." My eyes returned to the odd cat, now sniffing around the limousine with a curious gaze. "Something wrong?"

"Just a bad feeling I can't shake." After a few moments, the cat bounded off to who-knows-where. Turning back towards the socket, I slid my wrists from the handcuffs, causing them to clatter to the ground before Marie could unlock it.

"How did you…?"

"No bones, same as you." I explained. "Now let's just get this over with, alright?" Stepping up to the large pedestal, my wrists extended outward to grab tightly onto the cables on either side and I planted myself into the socket. Already, my body could feel the tingling drain. "Plugged in." I stated, as the machines began to hum with energy.

"Awesome. We'll be heading on now." Marie replied, turning towards the front. "Callie, are you ready?"

"Of course." She answered with a wink. "Thanks again Mr. Octoling. You're a life-saver."

"Don't mention it." I grunted, trying to keep my mind on the strain that was being placed on my neurons. "How long is this concert anyway?"

"About four hours."

"Crap." I muttered.

"What is it?" Callie asked, a tinge of concern in her voice. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll handle it." I lied. The truth was, I only had about three and a half hours of charge. "Go on stage, your adoring public awaits."

Callie beamed and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek, causing Marie to give a sigh of disgust before the two ran towards the stage on the other side. On the other side of the platform, I could hear the sound of the two pop-stars calling into the mic. "Hello Inkopolis! Are you ready to rock?"

A resounding roar from the excited crowd spurred me on. I opened the gates to flood the system with electricity. I could hear the crowd erupt into cheers as the music began, the dazzling display flashing brightly to the rhythm. I'd just have to take it slowly for now.

" _So this ain't the end, I saw you again...today and had to turn my heart away."_

Taking deep breaths between pulses, I gave the girls the energy I had. At the very least I could give them the three hours. Even if it didn't work out after that, he could at least say he tried.

" _Smile like the sun, Kisses for everyone! And tales it never fails."_

The crowd was going absolutely insane, and I found it difficult to believe that it was truly the two secret agents I'd met singing the song. That's when I noticed the cat from earlier, bounding back towards me with something in his mouth. My tentacle! He must have snagged it from the limo when he was inspecting it. He was rushing from the arena at break neck speed. "No, wait!" I tried to cry out, but a painful burst kept me stuck where I was.

" _You're lying so low in the weeds...I bet you want to ambush me. You'd have me down, down, down on my knees, now wouldn't ya, Barracuda?"_

An applause from the crowd led me to believe that one of the girls must have performed some sort of stunt, but I ignored it for now pressing against the barrier as hard as I could. "Come back!" I cried, though the words were immediately drowned out by the music. If he got that tentacle to the authorities, who knew what would happen.

" _Back over time, when we were all… trying for free, you met with porpoise and me."_

I could just barely see the vague outline of the pudgy feline as I strained desperately against my self-imposed bonds. Something was wrong, the energy was flowing away much too quickly, but again I shoved it to the back of my mind. Another attempt at escape led to a coughing fit and more of the tingling pain.

" _No right, no wrong. Just selling a song, a name! A whisper game."_

A weakness in my body drove me to my knees, my arms trying desperately to oblige my body's commands to release me from the grasp of the stage. I wheezed as my lungs began to struggle for air between hacking coughs. I began shifting rapidly between my octopus form and my humanoid form against my will. What was happening to me?

" _And if the real thing don't do the trick, no; you better make up something quick. You're gonna burn, burn, burn down to the wick. Now won't ya, Barracuda?"_

I was draining far too quickly. At the rate my energy was being sucked from my body, I'd be lucky to make it through the song. My chest burned and ached as I tried to control my now chaotic breathing.

" _Oh! Barra-barra-barracuda!"_

The music was beginning to overtake me as I slumped weakly in my bonds, now unable to even struggle as it sucked me dry. It'd taken almost all of the Zapfish's excess electricity, and it'd even begun absorbing the electrical impulses of my brain.

"' _Sell me, sell you', the porpoise said. 'Dive down, deep down, to save my head. You...I think you've got the blues too!"_

Once all of the excess was gone, I took a deep breath and managed to tear away one of my tentacles from the socket. On stage, the lights began to dim and flicker as a confused murmur settled over the crowd. But even still, the girls knew they had to finish their song.

" _All that night, and all the next, we swam without looking back. Headed for the western pools. Silly, silly fools."_

The music continued on for a little bit, drawing to an end as the stage lights vanished completely. Even the mics had become disabled. Stepping forward, Callie cleared her throat. "S-sorry everyone! We seem to be having some technical difficulties. Give us a moment, I'm sure we'll be able to get everything back in order soon."

Marie grasped her cousin by the shoulder, turning her to face her before whispering, "Callie, I swear to you... if your stupidity ruined this concert I'll…"

"I know, Marie." She answered quickly, not letting her cousin finish the threat. She knew that Marie would never truly hurt her; that she was just lashing out because of how important this was to her, to both of them. The last thing she wanted was for her cousin to say something she'd regret. "Let's go check on Mr. Octoling, maybe something went wrong."

"I'm pretty sure he is that something." She muttered in response, before the two ducked backstage. As they made their way to the socket, they could hear weakened groans.

"Oh no…" Callie whispered, rushing from her cousin's side to crouch down next to where I'd finally collapsed after managing to free the final arm. "Mr. Octoling, are you alright?" She asked. "Please, wake up!"

Grasping my shoulder, she shook me, trying to get me to open my eyes. "Callie, get away from him!" Marie exclaimed, tugging at her cousin.

"Marie, he needs our help!" She argued, but her partner was strong enough to overpower her and drag her away from me. "I can't believe you, Marie! I know you don't like him, but he could be hurt! He may need a doctor."

"He does, but you can't touch him. Look!" Marie pointed, revealing the shiny white spots that'd begun to form over the tentacles on his head. The dark-tentacled Inkling fell to her knees in disbelief as her cousin snapped open her phone, dialing an emergency number. "Hello? Yes, I need an ambulance for pick up behind The Walrus and Carpenter Ampith-" Her words were cut off when Callie snatched the phone from her hands and threw it as hard as she could on the ground, shattering it into bits.

"No! No ambulances. We can't let anyone know he's here, otherwise who knows what will happen to him, not to mention us."

Marie looked down in shock at the remains of her phone, her fingers curling into a fist. "Callie...you could have just hung up instead of breaking it." She growled causing her cousin to flush in embarrassment.

"Sorry, I guess I got a little excited."

"You owe me a new one. But anyway, what should we do then? We can't just leave him here to rot, as much as it pains me to say so."

Callie paused to consider it for a moment. "What about Gramps? He can help. Maybe he knows some sort of home remedy we can use."

"Good thinking!" Marie agreed, looking around herself. "Two things though: 1) How do we move him? 2) We're kind of in the middle of a concert. I know we can't play without electricity, so what do we do?"

The two glanced down at my crumpled form in deep thought. "Okay, Marie you look for some sort of tarp. I'll apologize to the crowd and tell them we'll do a free performance some time in the future."

"Judd's not going to be happy to hear that." She pointed out, but Callie just shook her head.

"We'll tell him that our plan didn't work out as well as we hoped. No point in even mentioning Mr. Octoling. We managed to get through one song, and we'll just need to make a longer set for the free performance to make up for today."

Marie took a deep breath, running out the plan in her own head. The more pessimistic of the two, she wasn't sure that lying to their manager would help. But Callie was right, they had to help the Octoling, for their sake if not his. "Alright. I'll start looking for something to wrap him up in. We'll get him back in the Limo before our driver gets back, tell him the concert was canceled, get him back to Gramps, and then douse ourselves in gasoline before lighting ourselves on fire to prevent infection. Sound good?"

"Everything but the last part." Callie giggled. Even in the most stressful of times, her cousin could still make her laugh. "I'll get back out there. Wish me luck!"

"Good luck." Marie replied, having already found a large plastic cover that was sitting over a spare speaker set.

As the black-tentacled Inkling slid to a halt on stage, her eyes went over the gigantic crowd staring up at her expectantly. "H-hi everyone!" She greeted nervously. It wasn't often she was struck with stage fright, but she always hated giving bad news. But at this point in time, she preferred it to the possibility of seeing Mr. Octoling die before getting the chance to help him. "So, I checked with our technicians, and as it turns out something busted. I'm afraid we have to cancel the concert tonight." A resounding wave of boos and jeers came from the audience as she quickly held up her hands. "Wait, wait. Don't get too upset." Almost immediately the crowd quieted, much to her surprise. "We have a plan. We know you're all very disappointed, and while we can't give you all a refund, Marie and I have decided to make it up to you by playing a free show in the Plaza, come next Splatfest."

The mob was surprisingly still as Callie took a sharp breath, waiting for their reaction. Just as she thought they were going to riot, Marie took to the stage beside her. "And we'll wear kimonos!" She offered, causing the crowd to murmur. "Gah, fine you perverts. We'll wear bikinis. Happy?" With that, the crowd all began to cheer as her cousin pulled her to the side.

"I thought you were supposed to be taking care of Mr. Octoling." Callie hissed, but Marie just smiled at her.

"Already did. Besides, you seemed like you could use some help. You just have to know what the kids want these days." Waving to the crowd, the two girls quickly made their way to the Limo as everyone started to file out.

Slipping in the backseat, Callie gently placed a hand on the tarp that was wrapped around me. "Do you think he can breathe in there? He's probably having enough trouble as it is."

Her cousin draped an arm around her shoulder. "Hey, it'll be okay. It won't take long to get him back to Gramps. He'll know what to do, I'm sure of it." Just then, I began to cough as I struggled to unbind myself from the substance wrapped around me. "He's waking up."

"Mr. Octoling, just relax. We're taking you back to Gramps, but you mustn't strain yourself."

I could recognize the voices of Callie and Marie, but I couldn't see them for some reason. "H-how'd the concert g-go?" I asked weakly, not listening to her instructions.

"We had to cancel it." Marie informed me. "Ran out of power."

"Sorry." I wheezed, before turning my head and coughing violently into my canvas prison. "I didn't expect it to drain me...so quickly." My coughing was calmed by the feeling of someone's hand resting on mine through what my body now realized was a tarp. "Where am I?"

"In the limo, we're getting you help." Callie repeated, her cousin already able to see the pain welling up in her eyes.

"I appreciate the concern, but I'll be alright. I just need to take it easy for a bit."

Marie leaned closer to Callie with a frown. "I don't think he knows. As much as I'd usually jump on the opportunity to blame him for it, he doesn't know."

"Mr. Octoling, you've contracted Ich."

"What?" I groaned. "That's not possible."

"It must have happened when the fan jumped us in the car." Marie muttered. "Maybe it took a little longer to manifest since your body is adapted to underground environments."

"N-no hospitals." I muttered, trying to sit up, but immediately weight was pressed on me to keep me down, driving me to another coughing fit. When I'd relaxed, the weight left me.

"You're right." Callie agreed. "No hospitals. That's why we're taking you to Gramps. He'll know what to do."

As the car came to a halt, I could feel the two of them dragging me out as the limo sped off into the night. Already, the door to the shack opened and the old man watched the two girls struggling with the tarp. "What are you two doing?" He asked as with another grunt the Squid Sisters dragged me further towards the shack.

"Gramps, we have an emergency!" Callie explained. "Mr. Octoling caught Ich. We couldn't bring him to the hospital."

"Jumpin' Jehoshaphat! You brought him here? Oh my, oh my. Alright step aside girls, let me take him off your hands." He grabbed on to the tarp and with surprising strength for his age, he managed to drag me inside, albeit not so gently. Turning back to the girls he nodded towards the door. "Now you two girls go home, okay? I know you're worried, but it's better you not be here when I do this."

Marie nodded in understanding, pulling the reluctant Callie after her. I could hear her consoling her cousin, just before the door shut. Cap'n Cuttlefish began unwinding the tarp before I had to shield my eyes from the light. "What are you doing? Aren't you worried you're going to get infected?"

"Nonsense!" He chuckled. "I contracted Ich way back when in the great Squid Wars. I managed to survive it, mind you. Once you've had it, it never comes back. Well for us Inklings that is."

I could hear him rustling around in his kitchen as I weakly laid my head down. "What does that mean?" I asked, just as he appeared over me once again.

"It means, we'll have to do something extra special for you, young man." I barely had time to register the crabhammer in his hand before it sent my vision back into darkness with a heavy thud. Cap'n Cuttlefish sighed to himself tossing aside the hammer and retreating back to his kitchen once he was sure I was unconscious. "I hate to do this to you soldier, but I'm afraid I don't have much choice." Turning back around, he approached closer, the gleam of the metallic kitchen knife reflecting throughout the shack.

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 3

Author's Note: Thanks again everyone for your continued support. I know most of you are probably getting tired of the same old spiel at the beginning of every chapter, but I just feel like I can't express my gratitude enough. Don't forget, I love to read reviews, so posting them is always appreciated. You can also find me on Twitter for regular updates on story progress and general thoughts. My handle is KibaElunal. If you'd like to check some of my original work, you can find my novel "Trinity Wars Book One: Behemoth" on Amazon. Or if you'd like to read the new original novel I'm working on, add me on skype at VulpusElunal (display name Polaris Vulpus Elunal). Also, if you'd like to play Splatoon with me, let me know and I'll send you a PM with my friend code. Be sure to share the story with your friends; help spread the love! As always, I wish you the best of luck with life and literature! -Kiba

After parting ways with Marie, Callie trudged home to Flounder Heights where her apartment waited. It always felt so empty when she was there, and even more so when she wasn't. Undoing the bow her tentacles were tied in, she let them dangle behind her as she collapsed on to her couch with a sigh. She really hoped her Grandpa could help the Octoling; she imagined he probably had a family waiting for him back home. It'd be sad if he died before he could get there.

After a few moments of silence, her hand lazily sought out the remote to her TV and turning it on, she flipped it over to the news. There the night time anchors sat discussing the events of the concert. It was obvious that they didn't think too highly of her or her cousin. "Tonight, at the highly anticipated Squid Sisters concert, (claimed to be a charity event for Ich research and awareness), the fans were highly disappointed when due to a mechanical error, the show was canceled. As typical of the two pop stars, they've made yet another promise of which they are unlikely to deliver. This time, they're offering a free concert at the upcoming splatfest, during which they will be scantily clad in an attempt to provide additional 'service' to their fans. What started as a good cause, has now become a lude bribe to save face for their own shortcomings."

She quickly turned off the TV in disgust. She never really understood how people could ever be so nasty to others. Marie had tried to explain to her before. "There are givers and takers," she had said, "it's up to you if you want to be a giver or a taker." For Callie, she felt it was better to be a giver than a taker. If everyone just kept taking, and no one was giving, then everyone would always be fighting. That was the last thing she wanted.

In a way, that was the reason she'd taken such an interest in the Octoling. He could have killed them. One burst of ink, her and her cousin would be gone, he'd still have the zapfish and could just go home. But instead, he'd turned himself in, wanting to sacrifice himself. She still wasn't sure why he'd done that, but she made it a point that she would ask him when she saw him again.

Off to the side, her house phone began to ring. With another sigh, she reached for it and picked it up. "Hello?" She asked, trying to sound cheerful.

"Ahoy. This is your Gramps. Just wanted to let you know that I fixed your little problem."

Callie sat up quickly. "Really? Already? When can I see him?"

"Whoa ho! Cool your jets squiddo. He'll be needing a while before he has strength for a visit." On the other end of the line, Cap'n Cuttlefish continued to wash the blood from the kitchen knife. "Tell ya what, you can come over tomorrow to see the work I've done, okay?"

Callie sank back in the sofa with a relieved breath. "Thank you Gramps, you don't know how much this means."

He chuckled through the phone. "Don't thank me until you see him." He answered. "Right now, you need to get your sleep little missy. So it's off to bed with you, I'll talk to you tomorrow, alright? And don't stay up all night playing video games, or I'll tan your hide like when you were a little girl."

She giggled softly. "Alright, I promise. What time can I come over?"

Cap'n Cuttlefish looked over his shoulder at the lump of Octoling flesh, blood still pouring from the cuts he'd made. He'd have to stop that bleeding before it began to soak into his carpet. "Let's call it lunch, okay? I'll make sure he's ready for viewing by then."

"Okay. Good night Gramps."

"Good night Callie. Sleep well." With a click, she placed the phone back on the cradle. Rolling over, she walked towards her room with a tired sway. It had been a very long day, she realized. Changing into her pajamas, she carefully folded her stage costume and set it on the chair beside her bed. She'd be sure to wash it after meeting with Mr. Octoling tomorrow. Turning towards her window, she could see her cousin doing the same across the alley.

Marie paused to wave to her, and with a smile she responded in kind. She was so happy to have her cousin by her side. It was like she truly did have a sister. Turning out her light, she laid back on the bed, looking up towards her ceiling with a grin. Tomorrow, she felt, would be much better than today.

When Marie returned to her home, however, her feelings were very different. Immediately, she changed from her clothes into her comfortable PJ's. In truth, she loathed wearing the costume that Callie had helped pick out for her. She still didn't get why she had to wear a dress while her cousin could wear shorts. Opening the freezer, she grabbed a pint of icecream that she'd left there before plopping down on her own couch. Similar to her cousin, she too turned on the television and watched the aggravating news report.

Unlike her cousin, she didn't care too greatly what the night time anchors thought. She ate another spoonful of the frozen desert, waiting patiently for her favorite part of the day. "Now that we've finished with our updates, we return you to the new episode of 'Forsquidden Love' only on Pilta! Keeeep cool!" Marie made it a point to put thumbtacks in the chair after leaving work next time. That'd teach them to rip off their catch-phrase. Looking through her window, she could see Callie getting ready for bed, a smile on her face.

She was glad to see her so cheerful. She knew that with her bleeding heart, she'd probably have had a hard time sleeping after seeing the Octoling the way she did. She waved to her, receiving the kind gesture back. Perhaps she was stronger than she gave her credit for.

Her focus on her cousin faded immediately however, as the screen changed to a scene between two amorous Inklings, one dressed with cheesy, faux Octoling tentacles on their head. "But mi amore, we cannot be together." The Inkling cried, placing a hand to his forehead and turning away. "Every moment with you forces my three hearts to burn with desire and yet...you are my greatest enemy."

The Octoling, her eyes tearing up, too turned away. "Very well then, you brute! Care not for the desires of my own three hearts, in your selfish pain. For you too are my worst enemy, and yet…" The two turned back to face each other. "I love you." She whispered, falling into his embrace.

"Oh come on!" Marie argued with her TV, the spoon still in her mouth. "That's what he wants, don't tell me you're too dumb to realize that!"

"But I can't!" The Inkling declared, shoving her away suddenly. "For there is something you do not know about me."

"Uh-oh, here it comes." Marie whispered, leaning closer to her screen.

The Octoling placed her hand gingerly on his cheek. "Tell me my darling. Tell me all of your secrets."

"Don't you dare!" Marie protested. "Don't you do it, you dumb bastard!"

"I'm in love with your sister!"

"God damn it!" The popstar cried out retreating back into the comfort of her couch and shoveling more ice cream away.

"My sister?! How could you possibly have such feelings?" The Octoling declared. "For her head is more empty than a flower pot."

"Right?" Marie agreed. "She's so dumb. What could you see in her?"

"But her heart is far kinder than yours." The Inkling protested. "I see the way you watch her with jealousy and spite."

The Octoling scoffed, turning away once more. "You're nothing but a fool! Go! Go be with her! Two foolish fools, made to fool with one another!" Suddenly, the door to the mansion bursts open, revealing another 'Octoling'. "Oh, dearest sister!" The first cried, rushing to her and tugging her along. "You have such impeccable timing." Her words were dripping with sarcasm as she stood with her before the Inkling.

"What is it Sister? Has something happened?" The second asked, placing a finger to her cheek. "You seem so upset."

"Hear what this foolish man has to confess to you!" The first Octoling cried. "Watch as he traipses on all six of our hearts! You may only have eight legs, but I swear you could step on the hearts of an army of Octolings." She spat at the Inkling.

"Please Mary, you mustn't do this." The Inkling begged her, falling to his knees. "Do not make me tell."

The first Octoling, Mary, turned away with a huff. "The time for your pleading has passed you traitorous buffoon."

Her sister stood above him, his head hanging low as tears trickled to the ground beneath him. "Fear not. You are my friend, and as such there is no crime you could commit that I would not forgive. Please, tell me your troubles." She whispered, resting a gentle hand on her head.

Marie sighed. "Of course she'd say that. She's just been waiting for this opportunity since season 2. This is so asinine."

"Oh dearest Kailey, you are so pure hearted as to have such sympathy on a fool like me. I thought my heart loved one, but in truth it also loved another. It is as your sister says, I love you both. It is a fate too cruel, one I would not wish on my greatest of enemies," He sobbed, before quickly adding, "which both of you are."

"Stand up fair Inkling, I've no ill will towards you." Kailey replied, offering him her hand. As he took it and stood, she wrapped her arms around him for a loving embrace. "Truly, to feel love so deeply for not one but two people, even one's so horrible as we Octolings, it is a gift, not a curse."

Marie could feel herself starting to seethe with rage; the only thing keeping her from shouting at the screen was the ice cream she continued to devour. It was then that an awful pain spread through her forehead and she had to set the spoon down. "Augh, damn it. Brain freeze." She whimpered, just as the camera panned to reveal Mary, now holding a splatter shot at the two.

"Step away from him sister. Allow me to put this villain to rest in his grave." The live studio audience could be heard booing, but Marie just rested her head back against the couch. Now it was getting interesting.

"Sweet sister, he is no villain. Can't you see, he's a lover not a fighter. While you may be a soldier of war, we should take pity on such creatures as he." Kailey assured her. "Do you not agree?"

"I do not." Mary replied. "I thank the demons below that such a spineless weakling did not capture my heart, as he has so obviously captured yours. He may have come close to having my loyalty, but now he has revealed himself for what he truly is: no more than a lying fool. Now step away sister, before I am forced to splat you as well."

Kailey did not budge. "I will not. Please, sister you must trust me. What would our dead parents think if they were to see us doing this?"

"The same if they were to see you so easily blinded by an Inkling. I will try to make it quick sister." With a spray of colored water, Mary became soaked, revealing that the Inkling now was armed. "No! Where did you…?" Her voice began to trail off as she collapsed to the ground. Kailey rushed to her side.

The spoon fell from Marie's hand clattering to the table in shock.

"Sister!" Kailey cried before turning back to the Inkling. "Why have you done this? I thought you loved her as well!"

"I did," he replied, lowering the gun, "until she threatened to kill the thing that I loved." Kailey sobbed over the 'dead' body of her sister as the Inkling approached. "I am so sorry for your loss Kailey. Please allow me to at least try to fill the void I've created for you."

"Oh fair Inkling." She whimpered. "As I told you, there is no crime you could commit that I would not forgive." She stood up and ran to him, hugging him tightly. "I love you dearest Inkling. Please do not leave me alone like this."

"I will not." He whispered, slowly raising the gun to her temple. "Close your eyes sweet Kailey. When you open them, everything will be right once again." With a splat, she fell to the ground leaving the Inkling standing above them both. Lifting a radio that was hidden behind a vase in the room, he spoke. "It is done."

"Good work, agent." A voice crackled over the radio. "Who'd guess that the Octolings would be so foolish as to fall in love with their own prisoner?"

"For a moment, I confess, I thought they'd discover my true intentions. Thank goodness for the young one's naivety. If not for her, truly I'd have been a goner. Now, it is time for me to complete my original mission."

Marie rubbed her eyes. For a moment, it'd looked as if the the Inkling was identical to the Octoling that presently lay in her Grandfather's home. "This is all becoming too real." She muttered.

"Very well, agent. I wish you luck in destroying the Octoling capital. Be sure to make it home in one piece." As the Inkling on screen lit up a cigarette, Marie found herself standing in the room with him, unable to look away from the two bodies.

"How could you do that…?" She whispered. "You lied to them both, the entire time. And for what? To kill them when they'd shown you mercy?" Her fist curled up, but the Inkling just ignored her. He turned on his heels, heading for the door. Marie tried to rush after him, but found her feet glued in place. She struggled to budge, but could not as he paused at the entrance, turning back to look at his handiwork.

"Sic semper tyranus." He muttered, flicking his cigarette back at them. With a spark, the entire room erupted into flames, climbing up Marie's body as she screamed for help.

With a solid thud, she found herself awake, gripping her head with a groan. Looking down at the table, she gasped. She'd knocked over the ice cream that had sat there all night, spilling it everywhere. She quickly rushed to clean it up, the screen advertising the next episode of 'Forsquidden Love'. She must have fallen asleep during the episode, she realized. The question on her mind was how much of that was a dream?

* * *

I let out a groan as I started to come to, an awful chill running through my entire body. Looking down, I realized the source of the chill was a cocoon of ice packs around my body. The room was incredibly blurry, and despite the shivering of my entire being, a harsh pain ran through my head. I began to reach up with my hand, only to see that in place of my fingers were small nubs. "What the…?" I muttered, trying to flex them only to realize they were just as they appeared.

"Good morning." A timid voice greeted me, causing me to jump. It was much closer than I'd anticipated, and I'd nearly fallen out of my bed as the pink blur quickly stood up. "No, no! Just relax, you're safe."

"Who are you? What happened to me?" I asked.

The voice said nothing, until another one joined in. "Don't worry squiddo. A little memory loss is normal after removing a few synapses." This one was far more familiar. Turning towards the other sound, the faint outline of Cap'n Cuttlefish began to sharpen.

"You." I muttered. So it hadn't just been a nightmare. "What did you do to me?"

"He saved your life." The other voice replied; one I now recognized as Callie's. "What do you remember?"

"I remember the concert." I answered tapping my head with my nubs, only to realize that my tentacles were gone. "Oh Gods, you cut off my tentacles?!"

"You don't remember anything before the drive here?" Callie replied in disappointment. "Well, you were pretty weak. You managed to contract Ich, probably thanks to that fan who jumped the car."

"Ich?" I asked, before memories began to slowly trickle back in. Laying my head down on the pillow, I took a deep breath. "I see. How long do I have?"

"Well, that depends on how much longer you plan on staying in the military." Cap'n Cuttlefish answered. "The longer you're there the less time you'll most likely have. But barring death by splatter, you should live a long and healthy life."

"But, I thought…"

"Gramps knows a lot about Ich and medicine. He was a medic in one of the ancient wars. He's treated a lot of soldiers, including Octolings."

"Yep." He agreed, his chest swelling with pride. "Even treated DJ Octavio himself once, though we haven't been on good terms since. Handy thing that Octarian regeneration. Makes it nice and easy to just cut the problems out."

"That would explain the missing limbs then." I muttered, before realizing how I must look. "I'm sorry Callie, I imagine I look pretty horrifying."

"I'll admit, it was a lot worse when I first arrived. I was shocked by how quickly your body scabs over itself though. Gramps said you lost a lot of blood, so you had to be chilled to slow it down. Are you uncomfortable?"

"As comfortable as I can be, captured by the enemy with most of my extremeties removed." I laughed bitterly. "Where's Marie? She must be over the moon to see me so messed up."

"Don't say things like that Mr. Octoling." Callie chided. "Marie was one of the people who helped to get you here. She was really worried too, you know?"

Somehow, I doubted it. "Why do you keep calling me that?"

"Calling you what?" She asked.

"Mr. Octoling. I told you my name. Did you forget it?"

She frowned, bowing her head slightly. "At first, I thought it might be more respectful to call you 'Mr. Octoling' but I'm sorry to say I may have forgotten it."

Her ditzy confession made me chuckle. "Alright, I'll tell you again. But if I do, you have to promise to start using it, okay? No more of this 'Mr. Octoling' crap. Feels weird being called 'Mister'."

She beamed at me. "Alright, I promise."

"My name is Lusca. Try to remember it this time."

"Well, Lusca," Cap'n Cuttlefish interrupted, "I'm happy to say, you have yourself a clean bill of health. Once all of your stuff regrows, you can go back to your kettle, and our business is concluded."

"But, the agreement…"

"Well, we can't hardly fault you for getting sick, can we?" Callie giggled. "Don't worry about it, you did your best. Mari and I figured something else out, so you won't need to stay."

Knowing my body, it'd probably take no more than a few days for everything to grow back completely. "Somehow, I doubt your cousin would agree to this. Have either of you told her of my condition?"

Callie's cheeks brightened as she scratched the back of her head. "Well…" she admitted shyly, "I may have gotten a little excited last night and broken her cell phone. So we don't really have a way of calling her."

"I see." I muttered, turning back to the Captain who sat patiently. "Captain, could you excuse us for a moment?"

Looking first to me, then to Callie, a knowing grin crossed his face. "Sure. I have some crabby cakes in the oven, anyhow. Just come get me when you need me Callie."

As soon as the door closed, I looked to Callie who now was fidgeting nervously in her chair. Was she still frightened of me? "Listen, I…" We both said simultaneously, causing her to chuckle timidly again. "Sorry, you go first."

"No, I insist." I replied. "What did you want to say?"

She sighed, softly. "I'm not good with these sorts of things." Was she saying goodbye already? "I'm really sorry, Lusca. It's all my fault you got sick. Can you ever forgive me?" I was shocked to hear the words come from her mouth.

"Your fault? I hardly think an act of fate can be considered anyone's fault."

"That's not what I meant. I shouldn't have taken your offer. I could still use my gun, even if Marie couldn't. If I had pulled it on you, and you surrendered...you'd be safe at home, and none of this would have happened."

"If you had," I reminded her, "I'd have pulled mine on you as well. One of us would be dead, and possibly many more." She smiled slightly, unsure of what to say. "What I was going to say, Callie, was thank you."

Now it was her turn to be confused. "Thank you?"

I nodded. "You've been...not what I'd have expected from the enemy. Not only did you agree to my surrender, but you found me medical attention when I needed it. Most importantly, however, you canceled that Inkstrike."

"I remember." She whispered. "But you never told me what would have happened if that ink strike would have hit."

A pang of guilt ran through my chest as I thought of the plan I'd made to kill both her and her cousin. Was I really so quick to end their lives? What had happend to the idealist that had joined the Military hoping to make things better? "Something bad." I answered. "I'd planned originally to send you into a nearby Octarian city. You would have been ambushed and killed by the civilians there, probably thinking it to be some sort of attack from the surface. But when I saw that ink strike, I knew I'd made a grave mistake. Innocent people would have died there if you hadn't canceled the missile. So again, thank you."

Her eyes began to glisten with tears as she tried to regain herself. Rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, she sniffled. "I'm sorry...we shouldn't have been there in the first place." She whimpered. "I can't believe we nearly killed those people."

"No, no. Please don't be upset." I pleaded, placing my hands on hers again, causing her eyes to meet mine. I'd never truly noticed how beautiful they were. "What's important is that you didn't. And I can honestly say, I'm happy to have met you Callie. Marie too, even."

"Oh, I'm sure." A voice called from the doorway. Standing in the frame was Marie, Cap'n Cuttlefish peering over her shoulder curiously. "I'm onto you Mr. Octoling, I know your plan all too well."

"What?"

"You probably contracted that Ich on purpose, didn't you?" She shouted, causing Callie to look at her in shock.

"Marie! What's gotten into you? You're not making any sense."

Her cousin walked straight up to her and grabbed her by the hand, tugging Callie away from my bedside. "You can't trust him Callie, I've told you once, I don't care if I have to tell you a thousand times. I will not let him hurt you, understand?"

"I'm not…"

"Shut up! I'm not talking to you. We treated you out of honor and respect, but we are not friends, do I make myself clear?!"

"Marie…" Her grandpa began, resting a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. "Come sit down, drink some tea. You need to calm down."

"Don't tell me to be calm Gramps!" She barked, the first time she'd ever raised her voice to him. "Am I the only one in this family who remembers that he was going to _kill_ us when we first met?! Or what about when we were in the Limo and he told us he would kill us if he was given the opportunity again? Has that somehow managed to slip your mind Callie?"

The room became very quiet as Callie slowly walked out of the room. "Callie, wait." I called, but she just looked back at me over her shoulder.

"Sorry Mr. Octoling." She whispered, causing a pain to lance through my hearts. "But Marie is right. You did try to kill us. I...I appreciate what you did for us at the concert, but you must understand why I can't trust you."

"Callie…"

"Gramps, keep the door locked, okay?" She requested. "We don't want him to escape. Be sure to feed him and treat him well, we don't want to seem like we're heartless either."

Marie smiled at her cousin. "Thank you for finally coming to your senses."

Cap'n Cuttlefish frowned, looking at me as I lay in the bed, struggling to get up to follow them. "Are you sure about this Squiddo? You seemed pretty concerned last night."

Callie sighed, taking one last look at me. "I'm sure, Gramps. I'm sorry Mr. Octoling, but I can't let my guard down. I'm sure you understand." Just as I was about to protest, she slammed the door shut behind her, hard enough to cause a picture frame to fall from the wall with a clatter.

"Come on Callie, let's get ready for work." Marie said, guiding her towards the door of their grandfather's shack. "I've got some great ideas for payback for those jerks who have the night shift."

"Sure, Marie. Whatever you say." She whispered, her usual enthusiasm gone from her voice.

As the two left, Cap'n Cuttlefish frowned, looking back at the door that held their captive. He didn't like this decision, but he knew that he'd have to leave it up to the girls. They were growing up, and they wouldn't always have their Gramps looking out for them.

I lay in the bed, absolutely stunned by what had just happened. Marie had just shown up and, despite all her previous attempts, managed to convince Callie that he wasn't a threat. In truth, he didn't know how to feel about it. Had the girls realized his plan? Surely not. Of course, even he wasn't sure what his plan was. He was hesitant to return to Octo Valley, but he also didn't want to just abandon his home.

The door cracked open slightly, and I perked up, hoping to see Callie. However, all that peered around the corner was the face of the old veteran. "What do you want?" I asked dejectedly.

He came in, closing the door behind him before walking towards the busted picture frame. Leaning down, he lifted it into his hands. "Such a shame." He sighed, placing it on the nightstand beside me. Turning my head, I was stunned to see it was an image of a much younger looking version of the Captain as well as DJ Octavio. "I miss those days, back when we got along. We were good friends at one point, you know?"

I said nothing, electing to simply remain silent. He waited for a few moments before standing up to leave. "Wait." I called, giving him pause. "What Marie said is true, I did threaten their lives. Even on the way to the concert. I...I hate to ask your advice about this, but what should I do?"

Cap'n Cuttlefish thought about it for a moment before answering, "We're soldiers, sergeant. We do what we're told to." And with that, he left slamming the door shut. With an audible click, it locked leaving me alone with nothing but a picture to keep me company.

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 4

Author's Note: Hey readers! Chapter four, now complete. Let's see if we can keep this ball rolling a little longer. My roommate Fano has generously agreed to do the art for the cover of the story, but we'd really like your support while he does! On November 13, 2015 (tomorrow for those of you reading as I update) at 7:30pm CT, we'll be streaming on his Twitch (FanoBelmont). During that time, the two of us will be also doing a Q&A segment, where you can ask us any questions you like about fanfiction, art, or Splatoon in general. While I can't post a link here, you can follow our twitters at KibaElunal and FanoBelmont. Thanks again for all your support, please leave a review, I love reading them! -Kiba

As Callie and Marie stepped out of the shack, Marie quickly threw her arms around her cousin. "Thank you for finally coming to your senses!" She exclaimed cheerfully. "For a moment, I thought I'd lost you."

Callie put on a weak smile that was not nearly as genuine. "Of course not. You're my cousin. I'd never betray you, least of all for an enemy." Her words, while cheerful were not greatly heartfelt. "So, how did you know where I was?"

"Because I know you so well." Marie teased. "If someone's hurt, you can never stay away for long. It's like some sort of super power you have. You can always tell if someone needs you."

Those were not the words Callie wanted to hear. Instead, they drove another spike into her chest as she struggled to resist looking back at the cottage. "I suppose that is true." She laughed along. "So what songs should we do for the concert?" She was hoping to quickly change the subject.

"I don't know." Marie admitted, giving her cousin a slight amount of relief. "We at least managed to get through 'Barracuda' so we'll probably need to mix it up a bit. What about 'The Tide is High'? Keep with the general genre."

"That could work." She agreed. "Maybe we should do 'The Current' right after, just to add some variety to the theme."

"Mm-hm." Her cousin muttered in response, and it was then that Callie realized she'd been keeping an eye on the door their entire conversation.

"Marie?" She asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Sorry." Marie quickly apologized, trying to hide her embarrassment. "I just keep expecting him to bust out of the shack with Gramps' head or something."

The pink-garbed popstar covered her mouth in horror. "Marie! Don't say things like that. Gramps is more than able to take care of himself, besides Lusca would never do something like that, especially after he saved his life."

"Lusca?"

Callie swore under her breath. It wasn't often she used such language, but in this case she felt it necessary. "Yes, Lusca." She whispered.

"So you two are on first-name basis now?" Marie questioned, the anger in her voice evident. "Let me guess, you let him massage your tentacles too! Heck, next thing you know, the two of you are probably going to end up..."

"Shut up, Marie!" Callie snapped, causing her cousin to look at her in shock. "I'm...sorry." She immediately apologized as the silver-tentacled singer took a step backward from her. "I didn't mean…"

"Oh my God, it's really happening." She whispered, causing Callie to become puzzled. "I can't believe it."

"Marie, I'm sorry I yelled. It's just…"

"You love him." She interrupted. "Don't you?"

"Wh-what?!" Callie blurted, her cheeks matching her dress. "Are you out of your mind? We literally just met yesterday! Of course I'm not in love with him!"

"Yes, you are!" Marie argued. "And you're going to quit Squid Sisters for him! You don't even care that he's going to kill me or Gramps, so long as you can be with him."

"That's crazy talk Marie, and you know it!" Callie protested. "I swear to you, wholly and genuinely, I am not in love with him, not even a little. We are friends, but that's all he means to me."

"Sure it starts that way…"

"No! It doesn't." She interrupted. "You and Gramps are family. Even if I was in love with someone, if they ever were to hurt you or Gramps, that love would be gone. Nothing comes between Squid Sisters and nothing comes between our family! Not one, not the entire Octoling Army, not an entire country of cute guys." Her tears began to roll down her cheeks. "You're all I have Marie, how could you ever think I'd leave you?" She sobbed, as her cousin stood there watching.

Marie knew she'd made a mistake with her accusations. It had just been a stupid dream; she felt so foolish having let it affect her like this. Wrapping her arms around her cousin, she pulled her tightly to her chest. "I'm sorry, Callie." She apologized. "I was out of line. Will you forgive me?"

"There isn't any crime you could ever commit that I wouldn't forgive you for." Callie replied, causing a chill to run up Marie's spine.

She fell silent after that, not sure what to say to her cousin. Their newsbuilding was just around the block, and upon their arrival they found a plethora of police cruisers waiting for them. "That's weird." Marie commented. "We haven't even done anything to those late-nighters yet."

"Do you think someone is hurt?" The other asked, her empathy starting to bleed through again. "I sure hope it wasn't someone we know." As they walked through the entrance, immediately they found themselves surrounded by police officers. "Maybe it's just a security check?" Callie whispered to her cousin, as they all leveled their weapons at them.

A smaller officer wriggled his way through the firing line to stand before the two of them. "Callie and Marie Cuttlefish?" He asked.

"Yeah. What's going on?" Marie demanded.

"The two of you are hereby under arrest." He replied, holding his hand to signal another officer to fire his weapon. A large net was cast over the two of them keeping them bound tightly with no chance of slipping out. "Anything you can and will be used against you in a court of law." He explained, launching into a reading of their rights.

"Wait!" Callie called as they were being dragged away. "Why are we under arrest? We didn't do anything!"

"Treason." The man growled. "Take them away!"

Just as Marie was about to open her mouth, Callie squeezed her hand. "No. Don't say anything. When we get into our cell, we'll call Gramps. He'll handle this, okay?"

When Marie and Callie were placed in the back of the police car, a camera flash got their attention. The Police immediately chased away the reporter, but the cousins knew that it wouldn't be long until the both of them made the front page, bound in the back of a cop car on their way to jail.

As it sped away down the road, Callie looked back to see Judd watching them both as the arresting officer shook his paw. "No." She whispered. "He wouldn't have…" Already the tears were welling up in her eyes. Judd soon turned and left, leaving her broken hearted before sinking into the seat for the long ride.

* * *

I flexed my newly formed fingers. They'd grown back far swifter than I'd ever imagined. Perhaps since all of my tentacles were removed, the regeneration was going faster. I'd never heard of any Octoling losing _all_ of them at once.

Weakly getting to my feet, I sauntered over to the desk pushed against the wall. I couldn't really understand what Cap'n Cuttlefish meant by his instructions. Do as I was told? By who? The Octoling Military was, for lack of a better word, sloppy in their organization. I doubted they even knew I was missing.

Either way though, I knew I didn't owe these three any loyalties anymore, not after they locked me away. With the Captain, I may be able to garner enough sympathy to plot my escape. Finding a sheet of paper and a pen, I began to write down a list of components.

During my stay here, it seemed like the Captain didn't have any advanced sort of technology, so perhaps I could trick him into giving me the parts I need for a transponder. Double checking my list of materials, I hobbled over to the door and banged on it. "Captain! Captain, are you there?!" I shouted.

After a brief moment, his voice came through the door. "You know I can't let you out, Bucko."

"I know, but I forgot to mention something. A few years back, Octarians started placing trackers in their members. They made us implant these weird things in our bodies that send off a signal." There was a pause at the door, and I knew he was listening. Good, my lie was able to convince him. "Listen, I know you probably don't trust me, but I really do care about Callie. I'm slipping a piece of paper under the door. I need you to get me these parts from an electronic shop so I can fry the sucker. The last thing I'd want is for the Octarians on your doorstep."

"Alright." He finally replied, allowing me to release the breath I'd been holding. "I'll get these for you. You, however, are not allowed to leave the room. Understood? I've got a guy that will get me the supplies, so I'm not budging from my post here."

"That's fair." I answered. Just as I was about to head back to the bed, feeling pretty confidant, I heard the phone ringing, as well as a faint ringing in my room. My eyes went to the receiver that was plugged in at the wall, hidden behind the end table. Really? They'd left the phone in here?

When the ringing stopped, I quickly crept over to it and lifted it from the receiver. I placed my ear against it, making sure to keep silent so I could hear the conversation. "Gramps! Something terrible has happened." Marie's voice came across the line.

My blood began to run cold. Was Callie injured? Cap'n Cuttlefish seemed to have the same thought. "What's wrong Marie? Are you or your cousin hurt?"

"No, nothing like that Grandpa." Callie's voice came this time. "We're sitting in booking at Inkopolis Jail. They're charging us for treason!"

"How did this happen?" He demanded. "I'm coming there now!"

"No!" Callie immediately barked, causing him to give pause. "No Gramps, you need to watch you-know-who. We can't risk him escaping. We'll go to trial in about a week. Our attorney should be on his way. Marie and I can handle ourselves until then."

"She's right Gramps. He's the real threat. We'll prove our innocence...well relative innocence...and be out of here in no time." Marie agreed. "It's not like treason is a hard case to beat, considering what we do in our free-time. Oh! We have to go Gramps, the guard is signaling us. Goodbye."

"Good luck girls. Don't forget I love you." The Captain whispered over the line, before with a click it was hung up. Before I could even hang the phone up, the door suddenly burst open, causing me to drop it clumsily. "Oh good, you heard everything." He muttered quickly, running to me and hanging the phone up before standing me on my feet.

"Good?" I asked confused as he went over to the desk and took a key off his neck. Placing it into the lock, he turned it first one way, than another. With a hiss, the desk separated revealing an old set of armor and some weapons.

"Listen up soldier, this is vital." He called, grabbing the armor and tossing it to me. "Callie and Marie say they're okay, but the truth is their attorney isn't coming."

"What?" I asked, catching the small pistol as he continued to throw the equipment to me over his shoulder. "What are you talking about, Captain?"

"I don't know how it works with the Octarians, but in our society 'treason' is not a minor accusation. What those girls don't know is that there isn't a trial for a 'Treason' charge."

I shook my head confused as I caught an ink grenade before realizing what it was and gingerly setting it on the bed. "Then what's going to happen them, exactly?"

The Captain took a small box and walked over to me, holding it in his extended hand. "They'll be shipped to Guanoctamo Bay." I looked at him puzzled. "You know...Squitmo?" I shook my head. "Ugh. Look boy, it's the harshest prison top-side. Don't they teach you boys anything?"

"We need to get them out."

"No shit?" Cap'n Cuttlefish stated. "I just thought I was giving you weapons and armor for no reason at all."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You want _me_ to go in there and break them out?"

"That's right. Look, it's been almost a hundred years since anyone's seen war up here. Other than me, you're the only one here with military training, and I'm sorry to say, I'm gettin' a little too old to keep doing this sort of thing. So you're gonna go and get back my granddaughters, or else I'll gladly send you there in their place. Understand?" His eyes didn't have the same gentleness before. Now they were replaced with a burning fierceness that made me quickly take the box he was offering me. It was the glare of a Grandfather protecting his grandchildren.

"So what would you like me to do? I doubt that they'll just let an Octoling waltz in there. Not to mention that with this armor, I can't even camouflage." I opened the box revealing a small badge that read 'Squidbeak Splatoon'. "What is this?"

"That's my old badge. Believe it or not, I was like you once Sergeant. My friends and I fought hard and fast to protect our way of life when the Octarians betrayed us." I opened my mouth to protest, but he held up his hand to stop me. "As I've said before, I don't hold ill will against your ilk. Actions mean more to me than any sort of species or racial bias. I'd have loved for things to end peacefully with us sharing the surface, but Octavio did not give me that option. But now, you have a chance to make things right. If you rescue my Granddaughters...well, I'll consider you a member of my Splatoon. Understand?"

"Yes sir." I answered, carefully taking the badge and tucking it into my pocket. "I'll get them out." I could feel a lump of pride in my throat. I would get them both back. "I'm sorry to say, that still doesn't give me an 'in'. Not to mention that breaking in would probably require the death of quite a few Inklings. Are sure you're okay with that?"

"That gun I gave you isn't a normal one. It's charged up with a special ink. Specifically, it's Zapfish Ink."

I looked at him stunned. "Zapfish make ink?"

He chuckled. "Not naturally, they don't. Point is, spray that on someone and they're body hits the ground like a sack of crabby cakes. They'll be back on their feet in a few hours later, but that's going to be your way in. Sadly, this isn't a stealth mission, it's a break out. And use that gun sparingly, once your tanks empty, that's the end of it. That armor will protect you from walking in the Ink."

Slipping it on, I was surprised by how well it fit. "Where did you get this stuff anyway?"

"An old friend of mine by the name of Ammoses Shellendorf. Absolute genius at weaponcraft, even if the poor sod did kick it before his time." He nodded towards the door. "Anyway, time's wasting. You need to get a move on."

"One second." I answered, grabbing the cloth from my old clothing and wrapping it around my head. "If people see an armed Octoling, we'll have even more trouble than we do now. Better them to think I'm a rogue Inkling."

"That's using the old mantle. Good luck Sergeant."

"Yes, sir." I replied before taking off, leaving the old Captain in his empty cottage, praying that he'd made the right decision.

* * *

Callie and Marie sat in their cell before the more impatient one gave a sigh. "Ugh, Callie how long until our lawyer gets here?" She whined. Even Callie had to admit they'd been in there for a long time.

"I don't know." She whispered.

At about that time, I made my way into the police station. Just as the desk clerk looked up, a quick spray knocked him out of commission. Now people were starting to freak out. One of the squids in the containment cell began banging on the metal box as the officer watching him went to draw his gun. A slosh of zapink and he was on the ground, writhing in what I imagined was pretty painful. "Hey!" A voice called as an officer swung his baton at me.

Sloppy. In the military, we were far better trained. Catching the baton with one hand I struck him in the throat with the butt of my gun before firing point blank at him. They really should learn to keep their mouths shut.

Running further down the linoleum coated hallway, I came to a directory showing off the complex interior of the jail. That's when I realized I could be running around here for hours and never find the girls. I needed to find a guard who was still conscious and get the info out of him.

As if on cue, I heard the sound of loud footsteps stomping up behind me and with a quick movement, I avoided the splurt of toxic ink before wrapping my arm around his throat. Pressing my foot against the back of his leg, he went down to his knees as I held the gun to the side of his head. His hand went to his radio, but I quickly growled. "Don't even think about it. The Squid Sisters, where are they?"

He paused nervously, trying to get a glimpse of his attacker with a futile struggle. One tightened grip on his windpipe calmed him down. "Alright." He grunted. "I'll tell you." Loosening it slightly, I waited for him to answer, but instead he just shouted into his radio. "Get the Squid Sisters in Self-Containment Ward Isolation D! We have a break in! I repeat, all hands to the Squid Sisters, we have a break-" I didn't let him finish before pulling the trigger and dropping the crumpled flesh to the ground.

Well, at least I'd know where they were now. Rushing towards Isolation Ward D, I took a brief look at my Ink Tank. Crap, only three fourths left. I was burning through it fast.

Alarms began to sound as Callie and Marie looked towards the door of their cell in shock. "What is that?" Callie whispered, barely able to keep her voice steady.

"I don't know." Marie replied, in a similar tone. Both girls jumped when the door suddenly swung open and six armed officers grabbed them both, shoving them out despite their protests and questions.

"Suspects are secure. I repeat, suspects are secure! Do you read me Alpha Team?" One of the officers called into the radio. All that came in reply was static. "Alpha team, do you copy?!"

 _Pzzt_. "Girls. If you can hear this, don't worry. It'll all be okay."

"God, he took out Alpha team." The officer whispered to himself. Holding the radio up to Marie, he snarled. "Call him off! Now!"

"Me?" Marie asked in shock. "I don't know who that is!"

"Bullshit! He's here for you, so he obviously knows you. Now call him off, before I call _you_ off. Understand?"

"She's telling the truth!" Callie interrupted. "We don't know who that is, if we did I swear we'd tell you."

The Police officer just held his weapon to her face before staring into Marie's eyes. "Give the order now, or else I'll shoot her first." He hissed before pushing the transmit button.

The silver tentacled one took a deep breath before shakingly calling out. "Hey, whoever you are...please stop trying to break us out. We don't want any trouble, and if you keep going they're going to hurt Callie or me or both...so please, just turn yourself in and stop." Her eyes went back to the cops who nodded, shoving Callie to her cousin's side before giving the signal to his men to keep escorting them.

"Alright asshole, you heard your bosses. Stop this attack or else I'm going to bring the full might of the law down on you."

There was a pause for a moment as I contemplated how to respond. "Is what she said true?" I asked. I could feel anger starting to burn in me as I quickly blasted down an incoming enemy.

"Every word." The harsh reply came.

"Tell me your name."

"Lieutenant Daniels. Now how about you give me yours, save me some time on the paper work for your arrest."

"Well, Lieutenant Daniels...just know, I'm coming after you first." With that, I threw the walkie talkie over my shoulder on to the unconscious splatoon of officers. Activating a point marker I had picked up from one of them, immediately he lit up on my radar. He would pay for that threat.

Officer Daniels felt a slight tingling until he looked down to see the signal from his own radar giving off the pulse that informed him he was being tracked, and it was then that a cold chill ran through his body. "Get them to Isolation D, now!" He barked at his men, making them move even faster. He began to walk towards the other direction. If it was a fight this bastard wanted, it was a fight he'd get.

As soon as the door slammed shut behind them, the cousins shared a look of concern. Neither of them had recognized the voice over the radio. "Who do you think it is?" Callie whispered. "It sure wasn't Gramps...not that he'd do this anyway."

"I don't know." Marie answered, looking towards the plain white door that stood almost invisible in the small cell. There wasn't even sunlight filtering into the room. "Maybe one of Gramps' old war buddies?"

Her cousin shook her head. "No, he was far too young. It could be one of their kids, possibly. Maybe he owes Gramps a favor."

"But then, why would he not surrender when we told him to? That doesn't make any sense." She paused for a moment in thought before sliding down the wall to the ground. "We're in deep trouble aren't we, Callie?"

I rushed down the hallway, following the tracker's signal. He was getting closer now, even if he was further from the girls. I knew they should have been my first priority, but as far as I was concerned this son of a bitch had it coming.

Just as I took a step into the next hallway, a high-pressure blast of ink narrowly missed my head. "Damn it." The man, whom my radar labeled as Daniels, hissed. Already, he was taking aim with another Splattershot Scope, customized for the Police specifically. I quickly ducked out of the way of his second shot rushing towards him.

I fired a burst of the electrified Ink at him, but he too moved with an unnatural swiftness. I recognized the techniques he was using, this man was the real deal. Just narrowly avoiding a third shot, I leveled my pistol at him but his barrel struck down at mine, pinning it towards the ground. "Ex-military?" I asked with a grunt of frustration.

"Five years in the Inkopolis Militia Unit. You see some crazy shit down at Walleye Warehouse after hours." He hissed back as he too struggled against my force. "You're pretty well trained yourself."

"Necessity will do that for you." I retorted, my other hand releasing my pistol to snap down on his barrel thus throwing him off guard. WIth a quick flick of his wrist however, both of our weapons slid from our grip before he landed a fierce punch across my cheek.

Thus, our melee began. For every strike he got on me, I answered in kind with one of my own, and I knew I didn't have long until the first few Inklings began waking up. "Was it 'necessity' that made you kill all of my men?" He demanded with a roar, lashing out with a fierce kick towards my chest.

"No," I replied, blocking his strike before shoving him hard to the ground, "but that's what's going to make me kill you." I stepped towards him, but he quickly scooped up the Zapfish pistol and took aim. As the electric ink flooded over me, I felt a slight tingle then, darkness.

* * *

The Squid sisters sat quietly in the room as they heard the guards chattering nervously outside. "Sounds like our rescuer has them a little freaked out." Marie commented, struggling to hide the grin on her face. Whoever this guy was, she liked his style.

"I don't know, something about this whole thing seems a little fishy. We could have just waited for trial. I'm sure our lawyer would have gotten us out of this mess. We still don't know what evidence they have on us for treason." Callie replied.

"Hey! Shut up in there!" One of the guards barked, causing her to immediately fall silent.

"Hey we're just as freaked out as you are!" The silver-tentacled singer snapped back, going to the door. "It's not like we know who the heck this guy is! Besides, you don't even have proof that we are traitors, so why don't you save yourself the trouble and let us go."

The guard wheeled on her, his eyes full of rage. "Let me tell you something." He hissed under his breath. "My daughter is about six years old. Every year for Squidmas, all she asks for is the new Squid Sisters album, and every year I buy it for her. The fact that a pair of Octoling scum like you have taken their place will not garner any sympathy for me. You made the mistake of impersonating two of the most beloved people in Inkopolis, and you're _not_ getting away with it!"

Now the cousins were really confused. "Octoling? We're not Octolings you moron! Don't you have eyes, we're obviously the real deal!"

"Don't waste your breath, we found one of your tentacles in the limo to the concert. And that fake 'power outage' to prevent them from finding out you don't have the same voices? Please, give us some credit. We're not that stupid."

Realizing what had happened, Marie snarled in anger and returned next to her cousin. "This is all your fault." She growled. "If you hadn't brought that bastard here, we'd be sitting pretty back in our home."

"It didn't feel right." Callie answered meekly.

"Well does this feel right?!" Marie snapped at her, causing her to flinch. "We're in jail because of that damned idiot, and now everyone thinks that _we_ are Octolings. Once Gramps' friend busts us out of here, we're going back to the shack and we're coming clean about everything to the public. _Everything_!"

In truth, Callie's guilt had been eating at her the whole time. She felt guilty that it was her actions that got Lusca sick, she felt guilty for locking Lusca away, she felt guilty for having almost killed his people, she felt guilty for the way her cousin felt, and now she felt guilty for the two of them being in jail. "Ok." She responded, putting her face in her knees as tears began to fall down her cheeks. Right now, there was no one Callie hated more than herself.

* * *

Lieutenant Daniel's eyes widened, and he began to choke before coughing up a small blue spray of blood. I'm still not sure how it happened. The only thing I remember is getting shot, followed by standing there above him, coated in a thick blue fluid. In my hand was the Squidbeak Splatoon badge, it's one shining edge now soaked in his blood. The sharpened point of the shield had been drug across his throat, and it was then I realized what I'd done.

I sank to my knees, grabbing the quickly fading officer by the front of his shirt. "Why?!" I demanded of him. "Why did you have to do this?" My eyes began to tear up. This was the last thing I wanted, another death on my hands. I began to shake him, the life now gone from his gaze. "Why?" I repeated. "Why did you have to threaten her? She didn't do anything to deserve it except for being kind hearted, and yet you threatened her life! How could you make me do this to you?!"

I let his uniform slip through my fingers, only for his torso to land with a sickening plop in the pool of blood that was forming beneath him. I didn't want to leave at that point. I realized now, I could never be a normal person. I was always going to be the cold-hearted killer DJ Octavio wanted me to be, no matter what crazy schemes or trades I tried. But instead of accepting my punishment, I shoved my feelings down. The girls were still in danger, and I knew it.

Leaving the evidence of my rage behind, I continued to Isolation D, where the final hurdle presented itself. The six units still waited before the door I assumed to contain my charge, and immediately I set into motion.

With a flurry of strikes and shots of ink, I'd taken out half of them before with a click, the gun registered as empty. "Callie, come look at this." Marie whispered to her cousin, watching with great interest as the masked man continued to pummel the police officers into submission.

As one of the remaining three leveled his pistol, I grabbed his wrist and flipped him over my body, using his surprise to disarm him before my foot went to his throat, choking him. I managed to shoot the pistol from the second's hand just as the first one's struggles died down. Taking my foot off of him, I rushed the third, just as he raised his weapon, only to get him in a headlock that cut off his air as well.

All the while, I kept the gun trained on the second one. No one else would die today, I assured myself, but as long as the gun was on him, he wouldn't budge. As the third fell limp in my arms, I dropped him to the ground before walking up to the second and smashing him hard over the mantle to knock him out. Noticing that Marie was watching through the window, I sighed. "Are you two alright?"

"We're fine." She promised. "Just please, get us out of here."

I nodded, grabbing a set of keys from one of the guards and quickly unlocking the door to the cell. As it slid open, Marie immediately pounced on me, pressing her lips against mine. I was stunned for a moment before carefully pushing her off of me. My eyes went to Callie who was still sitting on the floor, her head tucked in her knees.

"Sorry," Marie apologized embarrassed. "I just wanted to thank you for the rescue. Let's get out of here."

"Don't." I muttered to her, walking past her to where Callie sat. "Callie?" I asked, causing her to look up at me in surprise. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." She replied, though I knew it was a lie. I helped her to her feet, carefully. Seeming to realize my lack of belief she explained. "I just have a lot on my mind right now. I feel like I've hurt and betrayed a lot of people."

"We can talk about that later." I promised. "Right now though, we have to go." As I led the two of them towards the exit I heard Marie give a huff.

"Callie always gets the cute ones." She muttered under her breath.

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 5

 **Author's Note: Hello again everyone, I hope you're enjoying the quick updates as much as I am. Just a quick reminder, I will be having my Q &A as well as Fano's art for the cover on Twitch at 7:00 PM CT, today on Friday, November 13th, 2015. It's a livestream, and it'll be going on for a couple of hours most likely, so drop in and out if you like. The name of the Twitch Channel is FanoBelmont, and if you'd like a link you can find it at my Twitter: KibaElunal or FanoBelmont. I'm already working on Ch. 6, so don't worry, it'll be out soon! Enjoy! -Kiba**

* * *

As our group ran down the hallways of the jail, I came to a stop just before the deceased body of the late Lieutenant Daniels. The girls stopped as well. "I don't understand," Marie said, "why are you stopping?"

I said nothing, unable to look upon my sin, and yet also unable to look away. "You killed him, didn't you?" Callie asked behind me. Silently, I nodded. "Why? You told us earlier that you'd knocked everyone else out."

How could I explain to her the reasons for my crimes? "Isn't it obvious?" Marie asked. "Clearly, the guy was too much of a challenge. He wouldn't have killed him if it wasn't absolutely necessary. Right?"

I nodded once more, though it was a lie. It's true, I killed him out of necessity in that case, but deep down, I knew I'd have killed him anyway. I'd entered that hallway looking for blood, and I'd found it. She stepped over the body easily, only to look back at the two of us.

"Look? See, it's alright. Just keep going, and we'll head back to Gramps. He'll know what to do about all of this. He's the one that sent you right?"

"Yes." I admitted, staring at the wide eyes of the officer. Callie went past him next, to stand by her cousin before looking at me expectantly. There was a glimmer of fear in her eyes that hadn't been present when she'd known who I was. But now, I felt if it were needed, I'd get no mercy from her. Even though my heart was pounding out of my chest, I leaned closer to the body.

"What is he doing?" Marie asked, but Callie shushed her.

Reaching out with my hand, Callie quickly grabbed my wrist. "Don't touch him." She stated, in a surprisingly commanding tone. "You've done enough as it is, there's no reason to disgrace him further."

"I…" I began, unable to finish my thought. Instead, I tugged my hand from her grip and continued what I'd planned to do. I closed his eyes and plucked the badge from his cold chest before placing it in my pocket. As I stood up, Callie intercepted my path.

"Who are you?" She demanded. "I don't know anyone who is such a mix of coldness and warmth. You close his eyes, then loot his body? I don't know whether to comfort you or slap you, so just who in the world are you?"

Over her shoulder, I could see her cousin waiting expectantly for the answer as well, but I just shook my head. "It's not important. Whoever I was...that's not who I am anymore." I replied. As cryptic as it was, it was the truth. I wasn't an Octoling Soldier, I certainly wasn't an Inkling. I wasn't anything.

"Oh screw it! I'm taking off that mask." Marie growled, walking towards me hand outstretched. I quickly grabbed her wrist, twirling her and pressing it up into the small of her back. I couldn't let them remove the mask, not yet.

"No." I stated plainly. "It doesn't come off."

"Ow, ow, ow, okay!" She whimpered. "Just let go of my arm, you're hurting me."

I released her from my grip, heading forward towards the door. The longer we were together, the greater my chances of discovery. Maybe Cap'n Cuttlefish would let me go after all this. With any luck, I'd be long gone before he revealed who I was to them.

"Excuse me." Callie said, tugging on my sleeve. "If you can't tell us who you are, can you tell us why you came here? Are you a friend of Gramps or something?"

"Sort of." I answered. "You needed help. I owed you one, so I helped you. That's all there is to it."

"Owed us one?"

"Don't worry about it. What's important is your safe now."

"Follow up question: _why_ did you break us out? I mean, our lawyer would have bailed us out of that mess. You didn't have to tear apart the police department. I mean, not that I mind." Marie quickly added.

I turned to look at the two over my shoulder. "You didn't know?" I asked.

"Know what?"

"There was never going to be a trial. No doubt they told you there was to keep you complacent. You don't get tried for treason, you simply get sent to the harshest of prisons."

Callie gasped. "You mean...Squitmo?"

"The same." I assured her, stepping out of the door and into the light. Alarms were still blaring, yet somehow the dark streets were empty. I was shocked by how long they'd been in that cell. Thankfully, the electric ink lasted alot longer than expected. "You two head back to your Grandfather's cottage. I'll throw them off your trail."

Just as I was about to make a bolt for the sewers to return home, Marie stopped me. "Wait! Please, just come back with us. I'm afraid." I could see by her gaze that that was a lie, but still she batted her eyelashes and tried her best to look helpless.

Callie, as usual, could scarcely tell. If I were to refuse, she'd really dislike me. "Fine." I surrendered. "But as soon as the cottage is in sight, I'm leaving."

"Thank you!" Marie chimed, immediately turning and leading the way back. Afraid, my beak. "I know Gramps called you, but have you actually ever met him?"

"Only just the other day." I replied.

"How did you know him?" Callie asked, and I quickly decided to change the subject.

"Are either of you hurt? I heard over the radio that the Lieutenant roughed you up a little."

"We're tough." Marie assured me. "Nothing we can't handle.

It did not go unnoticed by the other that I dodged her question. "Good to hear." I commented, quickly taking the lead ahead of Marie. I opted for silence, thankfully it was respected. As soon as we came in view of the shack however, Marie suddenly gripped on to my wrist, tugging me towards it. "N-no! Let me go."

"Oh don't be such a baby!" She sang playfully.

"Marie, maybe you should…"

"Why? If Gramps called him, he'll be wanting to see the person who saved his granddaughters, right?"

"Yeah, but he doesn't want to. We shouldn't…" Her words trailed off as Marie opened the door, both of them becoming stunned. "Oh no."

Our eyes all fell to the open door that led into the room I'd stayed in. "He's gone." Marie snarled, storming over there. "How in the world did he escape?"

"Maybe your Grandfather let him out?" I suggested, but immediately Marie jabbed her finger in my face.

"Don't be absurd, he'd never do that."

Callie frowned, looking down at the empty bed. I was curious what she thought about the fact I wasn't there. "Bring...him...back." She finally muttered.

"Sorry?" I asked.

"Great idea, Callie!" Marie clapped before turning back to me and hugging my arm tightly. "Please, Mr. Big Strong Stranger. Our prisoner escaped, go get him back for us."

I immediately pulled away from her. This lovey-dovey side of her was starting to creap me out. "Look, my work is done. I wasn't even going to come here."

Callie was in my face in an instant. "Let me tell you something! The man that escaped _that_ room," she growled, pointing towards the door, "is incredibly dangerous. Not just to Inkopolis, but to the both of us. If Gramps assigned you to get us out safely, then you've yet to do your job."

Her words cut like a knife. "Do you really think this man is that dangerous?" I asked, my eyes narrowing.

My question seemed to catch her off guard as she broke eye contact with me. "Yes." She finally muttered. "He's an Octoling Soldier. It's his fault we were thrown in prison in the first place. It was a mistake for us to spare him, I know that now."

"Then you'll never see him again." I assured her, trying to hide the sadness in my eyes.

"Not good enough." She countered. "You are not to kill him. You have more than enough blood on your hands for one day. Bring him back here, I'll take care of him."

"Fine." I muttered, clenching my fist tightly. Turning away from them both, I slipped outside. I'd only taken a few steps outside when I heard Marie's footsteps coming up behind me. "What are you doing?"

"I'm coming with you, duh."

"No, you're not. Stay here with your cousin."

"Ha! You wish." She chuckled. "Callie could use some alone time for a bit. It kind of seemed like something was weighing on her in the slammer."

"You'll draw attention to us." I tried, hoping to convince her to leave me alone.

"More than having your head wrapped?" She asked. She had me there. "Sorry, I'm afraid you're stuck with me. So, where to?"

I looked back at the cottage. In the window, I could see Callie sitting in the empty room, staring down at the bed. I wanted to have some alone time myself, but that wouldn't be possible with Marie trailing me. "The Docks." I replied. "If it's all the same to you, I'd like some time to reflect on today. It's still kind of a shock for me."

"The docks? Well, alright. I mean, you're the professional here, not me. The least I can do is keep you company, I suppose."

As we began walking down the road, she tucked a beanie over her tentacles and put on a pair of shades. An ample disguise if any, I figured. Already the day had grown cold, and the sun dipped low on the horizon.

We were nearly halfway there when she asked, "So, what's your name?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Well, I get you don't want to share who you are, but I need something to call you. I can't call you 'Mystery Guy', it's just weird. It's like you're a cheesy comic book hero or something."

That actually managed to draw a chuckle from me. "I suppose I am something akin to that. At any rate, I think 'Mystery Guy' suits me just fine. We'll just stick with that for now."

Her shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. "Whatever floats your boat." She answered, playfully turning to face me. "So, got a girlfriend?"

"Now you ask?" I taunted. Again she shrugged. "No." I surrendered. "No girlfriend. No friends or family to speak of either, before you ask."

"It's like you can read minds." She teased, looking towards the large rig that rested on the ocean. "You know, Callie and I used to play Turf Wars over there when we were younger. Gramps called it 'training' but in truth, we always loved coming home covered head to toe in ink. It took our minds off of our parents."

"Ah, sorry about that. I'd almost forgotten." I whispered. "How awful is that?"

She tilted her head confused. "So you know about my Mom and Callie's parents...that's interesting. You must know us pretty well then?" Suddenly something occured to her. "Oh God, you're not like another relative are you?"

"No. Nothing like that." I replied, causing her to give a sigh of relief. "That'd have made things really awkward, huh? I mean, no more awkward than you kissing a random man you may or may not have ever met before."

"So we have met." She mused. "You wouldn't have said that otherwise."

"That's a pretty big leap." I laughed, finally getting to the pier and walking towards the ocean. I was surprised that I was enjoying our talk as much as I was. "The ocean is so peaceful. It's hard to believe it's my first time seeing it."

"R-really?!" She exclaimed in shock. "You must not be from Inkopolis then."

"Narrowing it down?" I asked, realizing that she was constantly informing herself of clues towards my identity.

"I'm getting there." She replied with a soft smile, the sunset coating the surface of the water in pinks and oranges. "So this is where you wanted to come to relax. I can understand your choice, it's absolutely beautiful."

"Yeah." I commented, taking the sight in.

She cleared her throat. "This is where you say something like 'Not as beautiful as you'."

I shook my head. "Marie, you really, really don't want me to do that."

"Why? Was your face burned with acid or something?" She asked. "Are you super ugly? Because if you are, that's a real deal breaker. Talk about leading a girl on."

"No, it's just terribly comfortable. I think everyone will be wearing them in the future." I answered with a grin. "Besides, haven't you ever heard that beauty is in the eye of the beholder? I mean, in my opinion I'm about a 6, but that's neither here nor there."

"Well, at least you have a cute personality." Marie pointed out.

"You should really learn to stop flirting with people you don't know. It'll end badly for you." I shot back. "Besides, you haven't known me for very long. How do you know you'd even _like_ me, much less be interested in me?"

"Ha! You're such an arrogant jerk." She laughed, slapping my arm. "What makes you assume that I'm interested in you?"

I held up my fingers and began to count. "You constantly flirt with me, you constantly flirt with me, and you constantly flirt with me. Did I miss anything?"

"Just this." She smirked, before leaning forward and placing another kiss on my lips. Placing my hands on her shoulders, I once more pushed her back from me. "What? What's wrong?"

"Marie, stop. Please. You may not know who I am, but I do. And I know what you'd think of me when you found out."

"No, you don't." She laughed.

"Yes, I do!" I snapped, causing her to flinch. "I'm sorry. I'm just really hurting right now, and I'm positive that this isn't good for either one of us." She thought about it for a moment before nuzzling against my arm. "Marie…" I groaned, turning to scold her again.

"Tough luck. You're comfy and it's cold, so you'll just have to get used to it." She muttered grumpily. "I get it, you know?" She added, her head not moving from my arm. "Callie's always been the cute one, and I've always been the bitchy one. That's just how it worked out for us. The fans love it, it really separates them from one another." The thought tickled her and she let out a slight chuckle. "Can you believe there's a Team Callie and a Team Marie? It's like we're cheesy romance novel characters. But yeah, I get it. Why would anyone prefer to be with the bitch, when the cute, nice one is right there next to her?"

"You could always change." I suggested, before immediately regretting it. What an awful thing to say.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." She mused. "I mean, it probably wouldn't do me any wrong to be a bit nicer. But at the same time, I see the way people try to take advantage of Callie's naivety. She's a sweet girl, but she's pretty gullible sometimes. Like this guy you're supposed to be looking for; she's probably bawling her eyes out over him right now. Despite the crap she fed you about being a menace to society, I think she honestly just wants to see him again, even if that means seeing him bound and gagged, you know?"

"I wouldn't have guessed. She spoke with such passion."

"That's one word for it." Marie laughed. "But the point remains: you like her more, he likes her more, it's a common thing. I guarantee you in polls, I'm probably around 35% and she's all the rest. I don't feel like doing the math right now."

"65."

"Shut up." She sighed. "But it's true. You get used to being the unwanted one after a while, I guess I should just accept it."

I took a deep breath, unsure of what to say to her. "I don't think you're unwanted. I can tell that Callie relies on you a lot. Maybe that scares you. Maybe that scares her, but either way, the two of you make a good pair. It's not about being wanted or unwanted by dozens of guys. It's about unity. Something I fear, I'm not much equipped to talk about."

"You know 'Mystery Guy', you make some good points." Marie replied. "That actually does help. I never really thought of Callie as relying on me...well, not that she consciously did. To be honest, lately I've worried that she hated me. I blame her for a lot of stuff, but that's because I want her to realize that her happy-go-lucky attitude doesn't fix everything. That's not how the world works, and there are bad people in life."

"People like me." I agreed, before she tightened her grip on my arm.

"Don't say that." She whispered under her breath. "Don't ever say that."

"Why not?" I asked. "It's true."

"So you killed that one guy...you've killed lots of guys, I'm sure, and on top of that you killed him for a good reason. He would have killed you given the chance, and you know he threatened to kill Callie and me."

"Actually, I really haven't." I muttered, losing myself in the rolling waves. "He was the first person I ever killed. As for a reason...not really. I intentionally went after him. When I heard he'd threatened you two, I just...snapped. I knew that if we crossed paths, neither of us would leave until the other was dead, and despite how much I hate myself for it now, back then I wanted it more than I've ever wanted anything."

"That's some deep shit." Marie mumbled sleepily. WIth a yawn, she flopped over into my lap, spreading herself out. "And if you complain again about being used as a pillow I'll punch you in the face."

I chuckled, and despite myself, I gently ran my hand through her tentacles. As she felt it, she just smiled at me, and I couldn't help but feel that we'd finally managed to connect with one another. "I'm really sorry." I finally said, breaking the silence again.

"Why?" She asked.

"I can't say." I sighed, my own secret keeping me from being able to utter it. "Just...know that I am, okay?"

"Alright, I believe you." She replied, just a small buzzing noise came from her pocket. "Oh, that's probably Callie. Before we left, she gave me her phone in case she needed to contact us." She flipped open the pink cell phone before putting it up to her ear. "Hey Cuz, how's it going?" After a few moments, the expression on her face slowly began to sink. "You've got to be fucking kidding me." She whispered. "How do you know?" Another pause. "Callie, I've got to go. We'll be there soon."

"Is something wrong?" I asked, just before she grabbed me roughly by the front of my shirt. Before I could move an inch she ripped the mask from my face, revealing me for who I was. "Marie, don't!" I cried, but it was too late. She loosened her grip, dropping me to the ground. There was a mix of anger and hurt in her eyes.

"You son of a bitch." She muttered, clutching her fist tightly. "I cannot believe you did something so low. You fucking lied and deceived us again. You're lucky, I don't fucking drown you here and now."

"Marie…"

"No! You don't get to utter another damn word. You're going back to that room, I'm locking you away for good, and we are never going to utter a word about this ever again." She growled. She grabbed me roughly by the arm, and while I knew she was so angry I could easily escape, instead I followed behind her willingly. "I...I just...I can't fucking believe you." She kept muttering to herself.

"I told you so." I whispered.

She stopped wheeling on me. "What the fuck did you just say?!"

"I told you so. I told you, the instant my mask was off you wouldn't like me."

"Oh, you think? Let's do a quick recap, shall we? Not only did you lie to me about not having killed anyone before, but you let me pour my whole heart out to you, all while you were probably laughing your fucking ass off! Does that about cover it? No? Well let's keep going then. You tried to give us the slip, again, while Callie sat in that room worried sick about you! And the worst, the very worst fucking thing, more than anything else, is that you actually were dumb enough to let us take the fall for your shit in the first place! If it wasn't for your damned tentacle in the Limo, none of this would have happened. I can honestly say, without a shadow of a doubt, that right now the whole world would be better off if you were dead. No let's get back to the damned cottage, before I decide to splat you myself."

I couldn't be sure through my watery eyes, but I thought that she was crying too. "I didn't lie." I managed to choke out for a brief moment. "He really was the first person I've ever killed."

"Oh?" She asked, in mock concern. "Boo-hoo. I'm a soldier for the Octarian Army, I've never killed anyone, this is all so hard." Her sarcasm tore at me, but not as much as the next part. "I will never believe a damned thing you say. And once we get back, Callie and I are going to talk about the best place to dump your body. If you have any requests, keep them to yourself. For all I care, we can just let you rot to death in Gramps' shack."

"Marie," I called to her, reaching for her arm but she spun and struck me hard with a right hook that sent me to the ground.

"Shut the fuck up! Don't say my name again, ever! I fucking trusted you, and you betrayed me. I have always been right about you, and thank fucking God, Callie has finally seen you for what you are, because you'll never be able to cover this up."

As I slowly came to my feet, she shoved me forward, following me to her Grandfather's shack. When the door opened, Captain Cuttlefish lit up to see me. "Ah, there's the triumphant hero! Welcome...back?" His voice trailed off confused as he saw the look on Marie's face. She began to drag me to the room, but before she did I slipped from her grip.

She was ready to hit me again, but stopped as I reached to my waist pulling out the blood stained badge and setting it in front of him. "I'm sorry." I whispered to him. "I don't deserve to be a part of your Splatoon." After that, I brushed past Marie, our eyes meeting briefly before I went into the room and shut the door behind me.

Sitting in the chair, not having moved from the spot, was Callie. There was a plastic bag on the bed with a bunch of electronic equipment scattered around it. "Gramps said he got this stuff for you." She mumbled. "Is this why you were trying to leave?"

"If you're going to yell at me, do your worst." I offered. "I deserve every bit of it, so please, don't hold back."

She took a deep breath before rising to her feet. "You lied to me, Lusca." She muttered.

"Yes."

"You tricked my Grandfather into buying you parts, so you could build a communicator."

"Yes."

"You would have contacted the Octarian forces, just to receive orders on how to escape, isn't that true?"

"Yes."

She stood right before me now, her dark tentacles covering her eyes. "You came back here, having deceived my Cousin and I both. You played on our emotions. You killed an innocent man. You put my entire family in danger and you even got me thrown in jail."

"Yes."

"Why?" She asked. "Why on Earth would you do something like that?" Her voice was shaking as she tried desperately to make sense of it all. "We treated you well, didn't we? We didn't hurt you or torture you. We planned on letting you go, so you could live, even if you couldn't power our concert, at least you tried!"

'Yes." I whispered again.

"Then why?!" This time, her voice was much louder. "I thought you were one of the good ones...I thought I could trust you, Lusca. So why?"

"I can't tell you why!" I suddenly burst forth. "I can't tell you why, because I can't even admit to myself the reason why. because if I ever pause for even a moment to look at myself, I become so disgusted with what I've become that I honestly do wish you would have pulled the trigger on me! Every cruel and hateful thing you've said to me, all it does is make me wish I was back home underground! Then every time you give me that look," I began, her eyes looking deep into mine, "that look right there, it makes me hate the person I was. But the truth is, the reason why is so trivial to you and your cousin that it doesn't matter if I say why, because even if I did, you would both overlook it. I'm just a damned Octoling, so why the hell would anyone care about me anyway? Isn't that right, Callie? I'm so dangerous, and I can't be trusted. I could never be trusted."

Now I was fully crying, walking past her and shoving everything to the ground. I laid down, covering my eyes with the back of my hand. I could hear the weight shift back into the chair as Callie sat down again. "It's not because you're an Octoling." She whispered to me. "That's not it at all."

"It sure seemed like it. I'm just an Octoling Soldier. I'm dangerous not just to the public, but to you and Marie. It was my fault you were locked away. You know now, it was a mistake to give me sympathy." I gave a muffled response. I heard her stand, walking towards the door. It was happening; I was alone now. I heard the lock engage, but after a moment, I jumped when a weight fell on to the bed beside me, a soft long black tentacle draping over my neck as a pair of arms wrapped around me. "Callie?"

"Shhh." She shushed me gently. "Just listen for a moment, okay?" When I remained silent, she continued. "I'm sorry for those mean things I said. I didn't really mean them. Honestly, Mr. Octoling, I just wanted you back here, safe with me again." I turned my head to face her, only to see that she too was crying. "It was selfish of me. Truly, it was. So again, I'm sorry. I realize you probably blame me for everything that happened, just as we've been blaming you. But the truth is...hic…" She covered her mouth as the tears came harder. "It is my fault. All of it...hic...It's not your fault Mr. Octoling. I know you're trying so hard." She began hiccuping like crazy as her body urged her to choke on her words. "So please...hic...forgive me? Pretty please?"

The pleading in her voice was desperate to an extreme. I reached up with my hand and gently brushed a tear away from her cheek. Again, my heart was torn in two. How could I possibly go back to my life now? I knew I could make her stop crying. All it would take were three little words. Instead, leaning closer, I gently whispered into her ear, "No."

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 6

 **Author's Note: Hey everyone, sorry for the late update. Thanks a bunch for watching our Twitch stream the other night. While we didn't get to finish the cover, we'll be doing another Twitch in the near future to finish it up. Thank you everyone for all of the questions, I had a blast streaming with you guys. Without further ado, here's the next chapter. Thank you for your continued support, and I hope you enjoy! -Kiba**

"No." I whispered, causing her breath to catch in her throat. I wrapped my arms around her drawing her closely. "I won't forgive you." My words rested upon her ear, and I could feel her hearts pounding in her chest against mine while I embraced her. "Did you really think I'd let you do this? Just, shift all of the blame over to yourself so I could pretend like it'd all go away. I won't do that, Callie. I won't allow it."

"Why are you doing this?" She asked again, beginning to stir. But instead, I drew her even closer to me, the warmth in our bodies growing from the natural closeness. She let out a pitiful whine of protest, trying to comprehend what was going on. "I'm so confused."

I swallowed nervously, trying to think how to explain. "I won't let you take the blame for that man's death today." I finally stated. "It was my hand that held the weapon when I killed him. There are no excuses for that, I went looking for him to kill him. I did it because he hurt you, and that's not your fault either. I told this to your cousin, and she doesn't believe me, but he was the first man I've ever killed Callie, and with luck he'll be my last."

I'd gotten her attention, and she ceased to squirm in my arms. I released the tight grip on her, my hands finding hers in the area between our hips. "But…" She began.

I interrupted her. "It wasn't your fault you were in jail. You were right, it was mine. For multiple reasons. I should have disposed of the tentacle after I cut it off for you, a stupid demonstration in itself. I even saw that cat taking it. I tried to stop him, but...I couldn't get out of the generator in time. And before you say that it was your fault because I was sick, because your act caused the fan to try to climb in the window, it was my fault because I instinctively placed my hand to his chest to keep him from getting to you." Now I was in tears as well, as she leaned her head against my chest. "It was my fault that you became this hurt." I continued, whispering to her. "You showed me sympathy, and I tried to repay your kindness, but everytime I do, I feel like it only becomes worse."

The door began to rattle as the panicked voice of Marie came through the wood, having realized that Callie was now locked inside. "Callie?! Callie, open the door!" Callie looked to the door, but I quickly turned her back towards me.

"You feel guilty Callie, because you blame yourself for everything that's happened. But you can't feel guilty anymore Callie, because it's not your fault. None of it is. You can feel sad for whatever you want, and anything you want can make you happy too. It's nobody else's business to tell you what can or can't, but you're not allowed to feel guilty anymore." The rattling had stopped, which I knew meant they intended to break it down. "You have to go now, Callie." I whispered into her ear. "I can't promise you that I can fix everything that's happened, though I'll try. I can only promise you one thing, which is that when you come back, _if_ you come back, I'll be waiting right here in this room. I'm not an Octoling anymore. I'm not an Inkling either. But I'm here."

I heard the sound of the door splintering under the weight of whatever was being thrown against it. Having noticed the blood on the badge, I had no doubt that Captain Cuttlefish assumed I was trying to hurt his granddaughter. This time, she turned me to face her. "Listen well Mr. Octoling," she whispered back, in a stern voice like a mother scolding a child, "all the pretty speeches in the world won't undo what you've done." A soft smile crossed her lips. "So that means, you'll have to stick around until you've made up for everything. Understand? I won't allow you to shirk your responsibilities."

"Yes ma'am." I replied with a smile, only for her to place a quick peck on my forehead. As the two of us parted, she wiped her eyes of tears and walked to the door, unlocking it.

"It's alright everyone." She called through the door, causing the sounds to stop. "I'm coming out now, he's laying on the bed." As the door swung open, and she stepped foot from the small room that was now my world, a sadness rolled over me, but at the same time the residual feeling of her lips on my forehead managed to save just a glimmer of joy. I held on to it tightly; it would serve as the beacon for the dark days ahead.

* * *

That night, Callie and Marie sat in their Grandfather's living room, huddled around the coffee table swapping ideas on what to do. "We could turn him in." Marie suggested. "If we did that, then it'd prove our innocence."

"We can't do that." Callie stated plainly. "He rescued us, there's no reason to betray him."

"Umm...hello? Callie, he killed a man, remember?"

"And you kissed him for it." She replied glibly. "Speaking of which, don't think I didn't notice the sand you tracked in earlier. What were the two of you doing down by the pier, I wonder?"

"Shut up." Marie grumbled, looking down at the table. "And what about you? I never locked myself in a room with him."

"I just wanted to talk." She explained. "It was...enlightening." Despite her words, she couldn't hide the smile that had been plastered on her face since they're discussion. "But you're right, we have more important things to do than bicker about boys."

"Who's bickering?" Marie asked. "I'm certainly not bickering."

"You doth protest too much." Callie teased, setting up the map of the city. "So here's the plan, I think. They said we canceled the concert because we're not able to sing, right? So we prove them wrong. We have the free concert, like we offered, and we go acoustic so we don't need electricity. Then they won't be able to prove that we aren't the real Squid Sisters."

"That's great." Marie replied. "But what are we going to do about Lusca? I think it's obvious he can't be trusted on his own."

"What makes you say that?"

"The parts for an Octarian communication device scattered around his bed?" She scoffed. "Seriously, Callie. We need to get rid of him, and I mean get _rid_ of him."

"Well don't you sound bloodthirsty?" Their grandfather's voice interjected, sitting beside the two of them with a tray of tea. "I know the young man lied about the parts, but in fairness I was the one who suggested the idea to him."

"Gramps?!" Marie bursted as he calmly sipped his cup of tea.

"He thought I wouldn't recognize those components. But funny thing is, radios ain't changed as much as he expected. I bought them, because I was sure that when he did get back he would simply throw them aside...I was right." He added.

"You'd honestly gamble with our lives like that?" Marie asked dubiously. "There's no way you could have known he'd not go through with it."

The Captain just chuckled. "He's a good man Marie, I just wish you'd see it."

"It was kind of hard when she was looking so closely." Callie commented, causing her cousin to shoot her a glare. "I mean, she was so close to him they were practically…"

"Enough!" She cried, clamping a hand over her cousin's mouth. "Yes, I kissed him. Okay? Stop teasing me about it and find us a way out of this mess!"

"We could claim we were framed." Callie finally replied after pulling Marie's hand from her mouth. "Say that someone planted that tentacle in our limo and we had no idea."

"Not a bad idea." Her cousin agreed, taking the cup her Gramps had set in front of her and sipping it. "Though that does prove that we willingly took part in a jail break. One that, as has been mentioned multiple times, involved the death of an officer."

"Ah, so that explains the blood!" Captain Cuttlefish cried in understanding. "What?" He asked, noting the way his granddaughters were staring at him.

"Grandpa, are you sure you've been feeling okay?" Callie questioned. "You seem a little...uncaring."

"Hogwash! If I was uncaring, I wouldn't have given him my Electrozapper." He paused for a moment, looking around him. "Where is that thing anyway?"

"I think he still has it with him." Callie replied, causing Marie's eyes to widen.

"You let him keep a weapon?" She gasped. "Am I the only one who is concerned about the safety of our family?"

"If you're so concerned, why don't you keep watch on him?" Her Grandfather suggested. "I'm sure he'd be grateful for the company."

"Absolutely not!" She protested. "Right now, I can't even stand to look at his face."

Callie had to bite her tongue to prevent poking fun at her cousin again. Despite her teasing, she felt conflicted about what had happened between Marie and Lusca. Marie hadn't ever really had a boyfriend to speak of before, which was what made her behavior for her rescuer so strange.

"Fine." Marie surrendered, causing Callie to blink in confusion. "You clearly have a joke, just say it before you explode or something."

"Why _did_ you kiss him?"

Her cheeks burned red as she thought about the answer. "Prison...changes a girl?" She tried, with a sheepish grin. The doubtful look on Callie's face must have been observed, because Marie quickly stood up and snagged her coat from a hook. "Look, does it matter? It's not going to happen again. I'll see you both later."

"Where are you going?" Cap'n Cuttlefish asked, causing Marie to freeze.

"I was going to visit Mom." She explained quietly.

He frowned. "You know that they're looking for you. How do you plan on visiting her if they'll be out there combing the streets?"

"They think we're Octarians, they won't suspect imposters to actually live their lives." Marie protested. "Please Gramps, you know I have to visit her."

He thought about it for a moment before solemnly nodding. "Fine. But take Lusca with you."

"What?" She snapped. "You can't be serious."

"Deadly." He replied, his eyes becoming fierce. "Say what you want about him, he knows how to move about unseen. He'll help get you to your mother, and then once your business is concluded, he'll get you back."

"Yeah, but…" She began to protest, but seeing his expression she gave a sigh of surrender. "Fine." She muttered, walking to the door and knocking on it.

* * *

Hearing the knock, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and went to the door. When it opened, I was surprised to see Marie standing there, Callie and the Captain watching her expectantly. "Yes?"

I could see the struggle in her features as she looked down at the ground, unable to face me. She murmured inaudibly, before I requested that she repeated herself. "I said, 'I need your help'." She whispered again, with shame in her eyes. "I need you to smuggle me through the city. Please."

"Sure." I shrugged, grabbing my mask again and wrapping it around my face. "You'll be needing a disguise though."

"Really? That's it?" She asked skeptically. "No, 'screw off' or anything?"

"Of course not." I answered, tucking my gun in the back of my pants. "I figure you wouldn't ask me if it wasn't important."

"Fair enough." She agreed, putting her beanie and shades back on before walking towards the door.

Following after her, I flashed Callie a soft smile, one that she returned before waving farewell to the both of us. "Wait, you'll be needing this." The Captain called, tossing me his badge. I glanced down at it confused. "I don't really much care what you say, but once that badge is given away you can't go giving it back."

I swallowed nervously, before nodding. "Alright. Thank you, again."

"Go on, have a good time."

Marie just rolled her eyes, and after shutting the door behind me, the two of us began walking down the dark streets. For the first few minutes, we kept silence between us, until I realized I wasn't entirely sure where I was taking her. "So…"

"Hospital." She interrupted plainly, continuing to walk. "Please, don't even bring up the piers.

"I wasn't going to." I muttered grumpily.

"Why not?"

I looked at her confused. "Why are you asking that?"

"I mean, it's not like it's not noteworthy to bring up."

"Okay…?"

"But don't talk about it."

"I wasn't…"

"Look, if you're going to keep bringing it up…"

I stopped. "Marie, what on Earth is going on with you?" I finally huffed. "Everything you've been doing lately hasn't made much sense. I mean, kissing me when I first rescued you, our talks at the piers…"

"Didn't I just say not to bring it up?" She argued, walking past me.

"What you say and what you do, don't seem to add up." I commented, causing her to give pause.

"I know." She finally admitted, turning right down an alley-way with me hot on her heels. "I just...even I'm not sure what's going on with me, okay? So please, don't tease me about it."

"I'm not teasing you, I just don't understand what you want from me. Would you really prefer me dead?"

"I never…"

"That door is not as thick as you think it is." I interrupted, causing her to fall quiet. "Look, if it means that much to you I'll leave as soon as I see you back to the shack, just as I'd planned. I'm not going to hurt anyone, I'm just going to go back to my Kettle and call it a lifetime. I've had enough of this conflict, I don't want any more of it."

"No." She stated flatly. "You're not allowed to leave."

"Why not? What is it that makes you think I'm such a danger to everyone that I can't possibly ever have my freedom again?"

"Because I kissed you, okay?!" She snapped angrily. I was stunned by her sudden outburst. "Look, I've never kissed anyone before, alright? I'm still trying to sort out what it all means, and why I even did it in the first place. I can't let you leave until I figure it out, because if it turns out that it meant something and I let you go, I don't know what I'd do."

"Then, why not just say that?"

"Because that would mean admitting to myself that I'm not strong."

"You're not making any sense."

"I know that!" She protested. "I know it doesn't make any sense...can you just...I don't know...do something?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know! Something! Something that can help me make sense out of these last chaotic days."

"Ugh, you're so _tsundere_ it hurts."

"I am NOT _dere_." She argued bitterly.

"There's the _tsun tsun_." I pointed out, pausing to glance around the corner to the entrance of the hospital. This late at night, there were only a few people on the streets. "Alright, take my hand. If we walk close together, it will seem less suspicious."

"You want me to what?" She asked in surprise, but I just let out a frustrated sigh. Grabbing her hand, I began to tug her along behind me. "Ugh, you're such a creep." She muttered, though she pressed closer against my arm.

"Why is this such a conflict for you?" I asked. "It's not as if I have expectations of you, we've barely just met. Your cousin knows you far better than I do, so why don't you ask her to make sense of it."

"I was curious, okay?" She muttered. "That's why I kissed you."

"You mean like…"

"Not bi-curious you jerk!" She snapped, before her voice softened. "I was curious what it was like for Callie, to be the one that someone else cleans up for."

"Is that really how you see her?"

"Of course! Her ditziness is always getting us into trouble. Everyone else thinks she's so cute, but all it does is make me have to pick up the pieces when she finally breaks something. I can't even get mad at her, because she doesn't even realize that she's doing it! It's just like the limo thing, all the time! She does something absolutely adorable, only to find out later that it's causing us more stress than before."

"Sounds like you have a bit of a chip on your shoulder." I commented, causing her to squeeze my hand tightly. "Ouch, sorry. Ease up, I'm just saying."

Her grip weakened slightly. "You don't get it, Lusca." She muttered. "I've always had to be the responsible one. You wouldn't even guess it, but I'm actually younger than Callie is. But still, I've got to be the 'big sister'. So when you came to rescue us, I thought, 'Finally, here's my chance to let someone else be the older sibling'. So that's why, okay?"

"Do you want to know what I think?" I asked, just as the automatic doors slid behind us, leaving us in the almost empty hospital hallway.

For a few moments she didn't say anything. "Fine. What do you think?" She asked.

"I think you're far too concerned about your dynamic with other people." Scanning the hallway ahead, I noticed an officer patrolling down the hallway, probably making sure no one was stealing medical supplies. Quickly, I pulled Marie behind me into a supply closet and closed the door behind us, waiting for the footsteps to recede. "You only think of things in the way you are connected to other people, and because of that you've lost touch with yourself."

"What are you talking about?" She questioned.

"You say you're tired of being the big sister, but no one said you had to be her. The two of you could just as easily both be irresponsible, and it wouldn't make much difference."

"Of course it would, if I didn't, then everything would go to Hell in a handbasket."

After a brief moment, I cracked the door and finding the hallway empty, I nodded for her to come out. "Maybe, maybe not." I replied, surprised when she took my hand once more. "But the truth is, I don't have any siblings. I've never had to concern myself with what another person is doing, I've only had to worry about me. This…" I indicated, holding up our hands, "it's all new to me, but I'm finding that I don't mind being relied on so much. But it seems to really bother you, so why do you seek it out?"

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"At the end of the day, what I'm trying to say is you should just be yourself. If you're one of the reliable types, than embrace that. Let people rely on you if it makes you feel better. If it doesn't, say so. But don't be so indecisive, otherwise people will distance themselves from you because they can't tell how you're feeling."

"We can't tell how you're feeling often." She pointed out.

"You also lock me in a room."

"Fair point." She tugged on my hand, taking me down a side corridor. After a moment, she spoke again. "Thank you...for talking about this stuff with me. I'm not entirely sure who else I could have this conversation with. Callie would probably go overboard, trying to be a 'big sister' and end up making a mess of the kitchen before realizing it's not her thing. Gramps would just give me a lecture on how family watches out for one another."

"It's hard to keep an open mind after knowing a person for so long." I explained. "Can I ask, why are we at the hospital?"

"To visit Mom." She replied, causing an awkward silence between us. How could I keep forgetting about these sorts of things? "If you have something to say, say it." She blithely stated.

"Would you like some privacy?" I asked, causing her to look at the ground in thought. She seemed to struggle with her answer, so I cleared my throat. "How about this? I'll stand in the room, but I'll stay completely silent. If you want me to leave, just give me a signal and I'll stand right outside the door. That way if you need me, I'll be right there."

"How can you do that so well?" She asked.

"Do what?"

"Be okay as the supportive one or the responsible one. How can you possibly let someone else choose so easily?"

"I'm an Octarian." I commented. "Our species was designed for the sole purpose of fitting wherever we need to be. We can change the color and even the texture of our skin. When you can be anywhere, it's hard to pick where you want to be. So I let others do the choosing for me."

"That's actually kind of sad." Marie muttered, pausing outside of the room. She looked at the door hesitantly, unsure of what to do. "You deserve better, you know that?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You shouldn't have to be what everyone else wants. Even if you can be anything, it doesn't mean that you should let others decide your fate. That's a bit like giving up, don't you think?" She smiled softly, opening the door and walking in. "Come on. I want you to meet her."

I hesitantly followed Marie inside, where she took off her hat and went to the silver tentacled woman who lay in the hospital bed. "Mom?" She asked, the woman's eyes staring blankly ahead at the ceiling. "It's me, Marie. Sorry it's been so long since I've last visited. Callie and I have been super busy with our missions."

The woman said nothing, and I knew then that she wouldn't be responding anytime soon. Picking up the chart by her bed, my eyes flowed over it, and I understood. Her brain patterns were normal, save that her body wouldn't respond to her signals. She was completely aware of everything around her, even if she couldn't react.

"We tried to play that concert. The one I told you about last time, to help other people like you. We...uh...didn't get too far with that. The power faded after the first song, so we didn't really get to sing very much. But, I know you would have liked it anyway. We sang your favorite song." She sat in the chair beside the bed, placing her hand over the woman's. "Anyway, we decided to do another show later, a free one. We haven't performed it yet, there's been a lot of setbacks. Some people think we're Octarians in disguise. Can you believe that?" She chuckled, though her eyes held a certain sadness in them.

With massive effort, her mother's eyes moved to me and she let out a raspy moan. The act sent shivers down my spine, and I suddenly began to feel very uncomfortable. I went to leave, but Callie's hand shot out and took mine.

"Right, sorry Mom. This is Lusca...I know he is probably pretty scary looking with that mask on, but I promise, he's a decent guy." Her breathing immediately calmed, as Callie nudged me with her elbow. "Don't be rude." She whispered.

"S-sorry." I muttered. "Ummm...hi, it's nice to meet you." I wasn't entirely sure how to act in this situation. I'd never been around someone so sick, yet unable to do anything. Even still, Callie beamed at me. "I'm s-sorry if I scared you." I stammered, "But I'm worried you'd be even more frightened if I took off my mask."

Her mother let out a gentle sigh of understanding. As her eyes returned to her daughter, Callie released my hand with a grateful nod. "Don't worry, Mom. I thought he was hideous or something too when I first saw him with his mask. He's not though, it's just that...well he's not like us."

"I'm really sorry." I whispered. "Please excuse me." I still felt very uncomfortable, and I had to leave, but something stopped me dead in my tracks.

"Lu...sca…"

Marie's face became very pale. It'd been decades since her mother uttered a word. "Mom?" She sobbed. I could see the strain in the woman's eyes when I turned back to her. It took all the effort she had to turn her head to face her daughter.

Marie could scarcely believe what she was seeing. The doctors had told her that it was impossible for her mother to ever recover, and yet she was moving her head and even speaking. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, followed by the sound of an officer's voice. "I don't care about politeness right now, someone saw suspicious characters entering this room and I want in to investigate."

"We need to hide." I told Marie, who snapped out of her daze. My eyes went to the window, and I knew it was the only place we could go.

"We're too high up." Marie replied, having seen my gaze. "We can't go out there."

"Watch me." I muttered, running to the door and tossing it open as the sound of keys jingling informed me we were short on time. Grabbing Marie about the waist, I heaved us over the ledge, my hand grasping on to the window sill and keeping us there. I wouldn't be able to stealth my clothes away, but I could still turn my flesh invisible. "Shh." I warned her as the door burst open.

"See?" The impatient nurse asked. "There's no one here. You're disturbing the patient."

The cop walked closer, looking under the bed and behind curtains. "I doubt I'm disturbing her much. If she can't move or speak, then what difference does it make, anyway? It's not like she can complain."

"Oh, she can speak. Not tomes, mind you, but just the other day I heard her say her daughter's name. She must really miss her. She usually comes to visit once a week, but she hasn't been able to come by this week yet." The nurse lectured, before she noticed the window and frowned. "This window isn't supposed to be open. The poor woman could catch cold on top of everything else." If she closed the window on my hand, there was no telling what could happen. I may drop Marie, or worse my fingers would be severed and we'd both fall.

"N-no." A raspy groan came from the room. The nurse paused her movement, turning to look back at the woman in the bed.

"Alright Mrs. Cuttlefish." She replied. "I'll leave it open for a little longer. But you need to understand, your daughter will have my hide if she finds out I let you get sicker than you already are. I'm sure she can't wait to hear the sound of your voice again." Turning back to the police officer, she placed her hands on her hips. "Are we done here? Mrs. Cuttlefish needs her rest, and I'm sure that she finds you pretty annoying, even if she can't say so. Lord knows I do."

The officer growled but nodded. "Fine. Thank you for your time ma'am." He muttered sarcastically to Marie's mother before storming out. The nurse followed behind him, and when the door closed I lifted Marie back towards the window sill to help her climb back inside.

"Thanks Mom. I can't really explain everything right now, but I'm really happy to hear you're finally starting to feel a little better." As I clambered back in after her, I also nodded to show my gratitude for her assistance. It may have been my imagination, but I could have sworn she flash a slight smile. "Lusca, check the hallway to make sure it's clear." Marie instructed.

Moving there slowly, I glanced through the crack in the door. Neither the officer nor the nurse were anywhere to be seen. "Coast is clear." I informed her. "Are you sure you want to go? I don't mind waiting for you to finish."

She looked back at her mother longingly and walking back to her side leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Sorry Mom, I know it was a short visit this time. I promise, once this whole thing blows over, I'll come back again. Who knows? Maybe you'll get to see what Lusca really looks like next time."

I waited patiently by the door, watching in silence. "Ma...rie…" Her mother wheezed finally, and I could see her eyes tearing up.

"That's right." Marie whispered to her. "It's me, Mom. I've got to go now, but I promise I'll visit again soon. I love you so much." It tore me up inside to see Marie so sad, but underneath it I could see the glimmer of joy from hearing her mother speak her name to her. After giving her mother one last hug, and returning to my side she slid her hat and shades back on. "Let's go." She whispered to me, her hand once again seeking out mine.

Soon we'd managed to return to the alleyway we'd come from. Despite the silence between us, Marie tugged on my hand to stop me. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"I just…" She began, stopping and taking a breath. "Thank you, Lusca. I'm glad you were there with me. And I'm glad you gave me that advice. I didn't understand what you meant then, in fact I still don't completely know the answers to the questions you asked me...but even though I know it's not the case, I still can't help but feel you were the reason my Mom spoke." I took a deep breath as she stood on her toes to place a grateful kiss on my cheek. "Last one. I promise." She whispered to me, before flashing a grin. "But I'm still keeping you locked in that room. I can't have you blabbing to Callie about how much of a softy I'm starting to become, now can I?"

I chuckled. "I promise, I won't say a word."

To be continued...


	7. Chapter 7

An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 7

 **Author's Note: Hello everyone, sorry it's been a few days since the last update. School's been super busy with Thanksgiving on the way, but I've still made some time for you guys. The Twitch stream for the cover art will continue this Friday, same place as before, so if you like feel free to check it out. You can follow my twitter KibaElunal where I'll post random updates and announce events and such. Best of luck in life and literature. -Kiba**

I held my breath as I continued my work, lowering the transistor ever so slightly as I listened for the static that would signal my success. "What are you doing?" A voice whispered in my ear, causing me to jump so hard that the transistor's prongs snapped in the holes.

"I was trying to get my radio working." I huffed, looking over my shoulder at the curious Inkling. "I can't stay in here all day with nothing to do you know. A man's got to have something to do with his hands."

"Well," Marie commented, "don't they usually just…"

"No." I stated flatly, pulling the broken transistor from the socket and tossing it into the garbage before grabbing a spare.

Her eyes narrowed at me. "You're not trying to connect to the Octarian forces are you?"

"Of course not!" I snapped quickly. "I already told you, I'm not out to get you anymore. You'd think that our visit to your mother the other day would have granted more faith in me."

She scoffed, crossing her arms. "You are still an _enemy_ soldier, remember? While I appreciate what you did for me, it doesn't change the fact that you could be doing all this to exact, in some complicated way, your vengeance on us 'surface-dwellers'."

I didn't even dignify her statement with a response as I slowly lowered the transistor into place. As the static began to pour through the speaker, I let out a relieved sigh. The previous fopah didn't ruin all my hard work. "Finally." I muttered, turning the knob slightly to tune into a local channel. As the familiar singing of my two jailers began to flow from it, I grinned.

"You know, if you want to hear us sing so badly, you could just say so." Marie smirked. "I could call Callie in here, you know how she loves to entertain you."

"Shut up." I shot back. "Besides, you wouldn't do it anyway. It'd be all 'Lusca's a prisoner Callie, when will you ever grow up and learn that if we give him what he wants it'll end up being the other way around.'"

"Wow," Callie giggled, walking into the room. "That was amazing. I thought Marie was good at impressions, but that was almost identical." She smiled at her cousin brightly, though the gesture was not reciprocated. "Maybe if you're ever sick Marie, we can have him on stage instead. I bet he'd be an excellent singer."

The thought tickled me as images of myself in a wig like Marie's tentacles came to mind. "Sorry to disappoint you Callie, but I'm an awful singer."

"Seconded." Marie agreed. "I don't think I ever want to hear an Octarian sing. Ugh."

"Anyway Marie, I just came to let you know that everything is set-up for the concert later. Even Gramps will be there. Right now, he's getting some ear plugs to help with the crowd, but he can't wait."

"Really?" She asked in shock. "That's amazing. I guess we should go get ready, huh? How are we going to get there?"

"'Gramps says he'll take us." Callie replied, though I could see hesitation in her eyes. "I mean...maybe we could walk? Gramps is getting a little...sluggish behind the wheel."

"If by sluggish you mean bat-shit insane." Marie sighed before turning to me. "You! We're going to go get changed. You stay here like a good boy. It'll be tempting to run while no one is watching you, but just remember that Callie has your scent, and she tracks down food like a bloodhound."

"Teehee, it's true." Her cousin giggled. "You can ask me where the nearest noodle shop is and I'll find it just by sniffing it out."

"I'll bear it in mind." I replied, putting some fine adjustments on the radio. As Marie left the room, Callie lagged behind a moment before sitting beside me.

"In all seriousness though, will you be okay?" She asked. I looked up into her golden eyes, racked with worry. "You're not still thinking about leaving are you? I know my cousin can be rough, but she wants you here too. Once everything blows over, we can let you out of the room. Maybe you can even live in an apartment with one of us."

"I promise, I'll be here." I assured her with a smile, as empty as it was. The truth was, I was starting to develop a case of cabin fever. I couldn't stand being locked in here all day. I'd hoped the radio would break up the monotony, but if it didn't help, I didn't know what I would do. "Go ahead and go to the concert. I'll listen to it on the radio. I'll be there to support you in spirit, okay?"

"Okay." She finally agreed before giving me a hug. "Thanks for being so understanding."

"Don't mention it." I replied as she skipped from the room, closing the door behind her and leaving me to my work. At last, I was alone. Maybe I'd actually get some entertainment now. Changing the frequencies, I could hear the distorted sounds of the various musicians and talk show hosts before a strange noise caught my attention. It was a pulsing sound, almost like a repetitive beep. But something about it seemed familiar, almost intentional.

It took longer than I'd like to admit before I recognized that it was Octarian Code, a secret system used to send messages to military teams. I was tempted to shuffle to something else, but my curiosity ended up getting the better of me. Snagging a piece of paper, I began to write the letters as they came through on a loop, like a beacon wanting to be heard. "L-U-S-C-A." I muttered as I wrote each letter. They were searching for me.

I could still hear the water running from the bathroom, indicating the girls were still getting ready for their concert. I quickly went to work, connecting transmitters and amplifiers before pulsing a quick signal back. "L-U-S-C-A I-S S-A-F-E S-T-O-P" I answered back to them, taking a sharp breath.

"W-A-I-T F-O-R O-R-D-E-R-S." Their reply came, causing me to nervously tap my fingers against the side of the radio. I wasn't sure what to do at this point, I hadn't expected to meet rescue. In truth, I'd have guessed they had no idea I was even gone.

"Lusca?" Callie's voice called, causing me to nearly hurl the radio across the room in shock. I hadn't expected her to be so close. It was a gesture that did not go unnoticed. "Oh, sorry to have startled you."

"It's alright." I sighed, turning to flash her a smile before my heart stopped. Both her and Marie were dressed in stunning bikinis that could cause any warm-blooded male to become a slobbering idiot. That would have happened if they were alone, but the fact they were standing beside one another practically made me mute.

Callie blushed, smiling sheepishly at me while Marie just sighed. "Tell me why I promised this again?" She asked. "Oh yeah, some stupid Octoling couldn't power our concert like we'd agreed. This was probably some crazy plot on your part wasn't it?"

Gone were the harshness of her previous words, now replaced with the teasing tone that she used with Callie when they were together. "Do you like them?" Callie asked. "I made them myself." She did a cute twirl to show it off before waiting for my answer.

"...made...them?" I squeaked out, fairly certain that my blood was racing through my body faster than it ever had been.

"Right?" Marie agreed. "I hope it doesn't come apart while we're on stage. They'd know it was really us alright, but they may know it a little too well."

Her cousin frowned. "Hey, I worked hard on these. I even made it in our favorite colors."

"True, but I think mine's a little small." The younger one commented, tugging at the pad that rested on one of her breasts. "I can feel it pushing up on me." If I wasn't blushing before, I was now.

"They're supposed to be like that." Callie giggled. "It'll distract the audience if we make a mistake. All you have to do is hop up and down like this." She began to demonstrate, putting her hands on her head like a rabbit.

"Umm...yeah. I'm not doing that." Marie replied.

"Aww, come on, Marie! It's cute. Right Lusca?"

My mouth felt so dry, I wasn't entirely sure if I could even speak. Instead, I just slowly nodded my head in the affirmative.

"See?" Callie asked.

"Callie, with the way we're dressed, I'm pretty sure he'd say yes to anything." She protested. "Watch: Hey Lusca, are you communicating with the Octarian forces?"

As if bewitched, my head once more rose and fell to show the affirmative. Why wasn't my body listening to me? Were the figures of these angels truly so wonderful as to speak to my inner biology? "Hmm...I see your point." Callie muttered, walking closer and placing a hand on my forehead.

I immediately turned it away, as she had to lean over to do so making my hearts pump even faster, but she just came closer and wrapped one arm around me to hold me still. "Callie…" Marie muttered.

"I'm just checking to see if he has a fever." She replied, my body tensing up under her touch. "He's really red."

"He's really red because we're basically in nothing but our underwear. He's probably really uncomfortable having you that close to him while you're dressed like that. Don't worry, when we get back from the concert you can check on him then."

As Callie pulled away from me, my heartbeat began to recede back to it's slightly rushed pace, rather than the all out marathon it had just performed. "Oh, okay. Well, we'll see you later Mr. Octoling, I hope that you're not too sick."

As she headed past Marie towards the front door, she waved to me excitedly, followed by Marie's sarcastic salute. "Look after the house while we're gone." She called out, closing the door behind the both of them leaving me stunned in the room.

"L-U-S-C-A." The code came again, shaking me from my senses. "R-E-S-C-U-E C-O-M-I-N-G."

Rescue coming? I looked quickly out the window, fearful that I'd see the bodies of Callie and Marie just laying on the concrete. Instead, I just watched as they climbed into an old beat up junker, albeit hesitantly. As it peeled out, I shuddered and prayed that they'd make it to the concert in one piece.

"N-E-G-A-T-I-V-E." I quickly answered back. "S-A-F-E."

"W-E K-N-O-W." The reply came eerily. "M-E-E-T B-E-H-I-N-D N-E-W-S S-T-A-T-I-O-N."

A cold chill ran through my body as I quickly switched off the radio. I donned my mask, tucking the Electrozapper into my waist loop and heading towards the door. I had a bad feeling about all of this, but I had to see what was going on.

* * *

Callie frowned as her phone continued to ring. Her cousin off to the side watched curiously. "Still not picking up, huh?" She asked.

The dark-tentacled singer shook her head no. "Maybe he's asleep?" She suggested, tucking her phone back inside of her bikini. "I was worried he may have a fever. He did feel pretty warm."

"I'm sure he's fine." Marie answered nonchalantly. "Right now we're got bigger fish to fry. Like which song we're going to sing? If we're doing acoustic we'll need to do something they've heard us do acoustic before."

Callie pondered it for a moment. "What about 'The Current.' That seems like it would be a good song to make them recognize us."

Marie looked out over the stage to see a sea of people gathered in the square, along with almost all of the Inkopolis police force, clutching batons and pistols with Ink. She swallowed nervously, but nodded. "Callie, are you sure this is going to work?" She asked.

Now it was her turn to comfort her cousin. "Of course, it will." She answered, giving her cousin a playful hug. "We'll just tell them what we rehearsed. The Octarians framed us before capturing us from the prison but we managed to escape because one of the guards fell madly in love with us."

"I'm not sure they'd buy that." Marie muttered.

"Why not?" Callie asked. "It's kind of true."

"What part of that was true?" She demanded.

Callie thought about it for a moment before grinning. "We rehearsed it."

Marie placed her hand over her face. "Let's just get on stage and get this whole bad news over with." She muttered. As they stepped on stage, she tapped the microphone, bringing a quiet hush over the crowd. "Hey everyone, sorry about all of this. I know that some of you may be a little curious as to what's going on. Well, we'd like to explain a few things first."

I silently made my way through the empty alleyways before coming across the back alley the message referred to. "Sergeant Lusca." The leader of the splatoon greeted me with a salute. "My name is Major Miranda, these are my associates. We're here to rescue you from your captors."

"That's really not necessary Major." I replied, looking at the group of women around me. I'd heard the name Miranda before, the woman was not known for her compassion. "As you can see, I am unharmed. I am simply gathering intel about our enemy. There is no need for concern."

"You were not given such orders." She stated blithely. "News of the Squid Sisters' attempt to infiltrate us have not gone ignored down below. Right now, we have a new mission: eliminate the sisters."

"You can't be serious." I muttered. "We'll immediately get lash back. We can't even come close to them without an entire mob of people seeing."

Callie rushed on stage as well, a smile on her face. "See, we kind of were thrown in prison."

"Kind of?" Marie scoffed. "Callie, we _were_ thrown in prison."

"Right. Anyway, it's come to our attention that many doubt our true identities. Looking at you, random guard. Whoo whoo!" She pointed at him with a grin, but his eyes focused harshly on her, causing her to clear her throat nervously.

"Point is, we contacted the police department and informed them that our supposed 'prison break' was not our decision. We were taken against our will by an underground Octarian cell. They'd framed us for the whole thing, hoping to try to cause disharmony amongst us."

"It's true. Sorry again, random guard." Callie pointed once more, his expression unchanging. "Whoo whoo." She added weakly.

Miranda pulled out a small satchel and held it infront of her for inspection. "This," she explained, "is a package of dehydrated Ink. Originally, we discovered that the concert was supposed to blow out confetti. However, an operative of ours was able to get in and switch it to their water source instead."

"What good does that do?" I asked, my hands resting behind my back where the pistol sat patiently.

She smirked. "Our group will sneak in there, and dump this bag into the reservoir tank that used to hold the confetti. That way, when the water sprays out during the big climax of their little 'show' it'll splat them instantly, along with the entire crowd."

I shook my head. "That's impossible, it'll never work."

"Well Sergeant Lusca, it's a good thing I don't care too greatly about your opinion. You've got two choices to make. Either you help us with the plan, or I execute you as a traitor."

I grit my teeth together, looking around at the group who watched me expectantly. "I…"

"So, after breaking us out, this mean Octarian tossed us in yet another cell. Callie and I were so heartbroken to think we'd never get to see our smiling fans again." This statement was met by a universal 'D'aww' from the crowd. "Yeah, yeah. Don't go getting all soft on us." Marie laughed.

"We managed to escape because, as it turns out, one of our guards was a huge fan." Callie explained. "We knew if we came back to Inkopolis though, our identities wouldn't be proven, and we'd still have to answer for the jail break. Our condolences to those officers who were hurt in the process, by the way."

"I'll do it." I finally surrendered. "I'll help with the mission."

"Good." Miranda stated, gesturing from the alley way. "As the two highest ranking officers, you and I will stealth beneath the stage and begin our preparations while the others hook up the pipes."

As we crept through the crowd, I could still hear Marie and Callie speaking on stage. I couldn't help but feel the guilt rising in my chest. They were going to die, and worse it would be by my hand. I prayed it would be a swift death. "So yeah, that's how we escaped." Marie finished, clearing her throat. "That being said, our first song goes out to our Octoling friend who helped us escape."

" _Going down...Going down...down where my breath is the only sound. Going down."_

As the music began to pick up, the radio on Miranda's shoulder crackled. "Good news." She whispered. "Agents are in place. All you need to do is pour in the ink and wait until the end of the song when the valve will purge."

" _Going down...Going down...don't look for me now, I'm not around. All day long, I'm underground."_

Flipping open the hatch, I looked into the large vat of water. Holding the package there, I paused. Callie...Marie...I could see their smiling faces just before they left still. This was my duty...wasn't it?

"What's wrong?" Miranda asked.

" _And I've been thinking about the future! I've been waiting for the day! Let the current carry me, far away! Let the current carry me away!"_

"Just give me a moment." I answered. I was surprised when Miranda permitted that for me. However, if she thought I wasn't able to see the gun she'd begun to draw from its holster, she'd be wrong.

" _Current flows, but I don't know where it goes. I don't care, I just get it there. I took this job...because I needed one. It's been seven years since I've seen the sun. All day long, I'm underground."_

"Hurry," she urged, "before the song ends." The music pounded in my head as I drew my gun and with a blast knocked hers from her grip.

"They live." I hissed. "I don't care what other mission you have to carry out, but those two are off-limits, do I make myself clear?"

"You do not get to give me orders." She snarled, tossing an ink grenade towards me. I managed to snap shut the hatch just as it splattered, preventing the deadly toxin from getting into the water. As it exploded in air, however, ink fell upon my skin causing me to hiss as it ate at my flesh.

" _And I've been thinking about the future! I hope some day, I'll get away!"_

I fired a few bursts from the gun towards her, but she managed to dodge it before sweeping my legs out from under me. Scooping up the package she went to the hatch and opened it, ready to throw it in.

" _Let the current carry me...far away! Let the current carry me away!"_

I hurled the Electrozapper hard, knocking the package from her hand on to the ground. Unfortunately, the pistol also ricocheted into the hatch to land in it with a plop. Just as she went to scoop it up, I rushed her throwing a fierce kick towards the side of her head. She managed to duck it just in time, but I quickly swept out and knocked the package out of arm's reach.

"Traitorous bastard." She growled, striking at my shin. As it connected, she took me to the ground before picking up her weapon. In shear strength, I surpassed her as I struggled to keep the barrel pointed away from me.

" _And I've been thinking about the future! I hope some day, I get away!"_

With a grunt of effort, I reached to her pack and engaged her super jump, sending her rocketing out from under the stage, before she caught herself. Grabbing the package, I took off in the opposite direction. I had to get rid of it.

Just as I was about to toss it into a trash compactor, Miranda leapt on my back driving me to the ground. "Why are you doing this?!" She shouted, unable to be heard by the masses at the concert. "You're an Octoling! Have you forgotten your own people?"

" _But the current keeps bringing me, back around! It seems the only place for me is, underground."_

Using my strength, I rolled over on top of her, pinning the gun above her head with a glare. "I am an Octoling, but you are _not_ my people." I growled, striking her hard in the face and leaving her unconcious. Standing up, I grabbed the package and kicked the gun from her grip. Dumping both in the compactor I began to head towards the stage.

" _So tomorrow when the sun comes up, I'll be going down."_

With a fierce blow, my vision blurred. It corrected, only in time for me to see the remaining members of the squad surrounding me. I lashed out this way and that, avoiding attacks to the best of my ability.

Soon one fell to my strikes, then another. I was taking my own share of beatings, but I refused to go down, I couldn't fall! I had to protect Callie and Marie!

" _Going down!"_

I took out another one.

" _Going down!"_

Only one left now, the strongest of the bunch thus far. Taking her to the ground, I wrapped my arm around her throat, holding tightly until her body went limp, just as the song concluded. With a quick 'sploosh', I heard the entire crowd gasp.

Dropping the now dead Octoling, I turned to see Callie and Marie, safe but absolutely shocked to be covered head to toe in water. The entire mob began to cheer, even as the police officers lowered their batons.

Callie glanced around before her eyes met mine, and I could see a confusion in them before falling on the bodies that lay littered on the ground around me. "Thanks everyone!" She cried cheerfully, before nudging Marie and gesturing off the stage.

Turning back, Miranda was gone. This couldn't be good. For now though, it was the last I'd see of her. She was unarmed and her opportunity to kill them had passed. I began to flee back towards the shack. Perhaps I could deny my presence.

But almost immediately, Marie and Callie stepped from around the corner trapping me in the alley way. "Lusca, what's going on?" Callie asked. "I saw you with the other Octolings."

"Girls, it wasn't what it looked like." I murmured as they began to advance. Marie's eyes glowed with fury as she came closer to me. As I took another step back, I bumped into someone. Turning towards them, I saw the angry eyes of Captain Cuttlefish, just before I saw the butt of his gun as it crashed into my face, knocking me out.

* * *

When I came to, I was back in the shack. The radio I'd built was shattered to pieces and my head was pounding horribly. As I tried to reach to my forehead, my hand stopped short and I realized I was once again cuffed. This time, as I tried to pull myself out an electric shock caused me to roar in pain before I collapsed back into the bed.

"So you're awake." A voice muttered, my eyes flowing towards the voice to rest on Marie.

"What happened?" I asked. "Why am I handcuffed?"

"Save it, liar. We know all about your plan." Her voice was cold, more than it had ever been.

"Plan?"

"We found the pack of ink powder in the compactor. We know you were planning on using it in the water system. It'd explain why Callie and I ended up soaking wet after our first song."

"No, I wasn't." I muttered weakly before she slapped me hard across the face, causing me to tense against the handcuffs. Another electric shock slammed me hard back into the bed.

"You don't get to talk any more." She whispered, her eyes a mix of anger and betrayal. "You swore you wouldn't hurt us, but it's obvious you'd say or do anything to get what you want."

Just about that time, Callie came in with a small tray of food. I could see the hurt in her eyes, even if she wouldn't meet mine. "Callie." I whispered, but she said nothing, simply setting down the tray and leaving quickly. "Callie, wait please." I called after her, but she just vanished around the corner anyway.

"You hurt her pretty bad." Marie sighed. "And she's not the only one."

"I'm trying to tell you, I didn't betray you."

"Let me guess, you were liberating us from our mortal coil. Save your breath Lusca, you're never leaving this room again. We'll remember to feed you and water you...at first. But you know, sometimes people can be forgetful." She stared at the door where Callie had left. "Like when making promises to friends that they wouldn't betray them."

"Stop saying that." I muttered.

"You betrayed us. You betrayed us. You betrayed us." She repeated, glaring daggers at me. "You are absolute scum, and you manipulated us and our feelings to get what you want. Well you showed your cards too soon. At least I have the satisfaction of knowing someone beat your ass while you were trying to stab us in the back."

"Stop!" I shouted, causing her to fall silent. "I didn't…" I choked on my words, taking a moment to gain my composure. "You know what, it doesn't matter. Go ahead and let me die my slow death. You wouldn't listen to me anyway."

"Glad to see we have an understanding." Marie retorted, standing from her chair and leaving the room. As she shut the door behind her, she came face-to-face with her cousin. "What do you want Callie?"

"You didn't have to be so hard on him." She muttered.

"And if you keep being soft on him, he'll just end up doing it again. Clearly if we want him to stick around, we'll just have to keep him handcuffed to the bed. He obviously won't stay here on his own free will."

"He hurt me too!" Callie snapped, causing her cousin to raise an eyebrow. "I know you keep saying 'us', and maybe he can't tell, but I can. To you, he didn't betray us, he betrayed you. That's how you've always been Marie. You use Squid Sisters to hide your own feelings, and I'm sick of it."

"Watch yourself Callie, you're about to start a fight you won't be able to finish." Her cousin warned.

"I _do_ believe Lusca." Callie finally stated. "You talked about promises to not betray friends. Well if you really did see him as a friend, you'd actually give him the benefit of the doubt. I know you're scared Marie, I am too. But how can we expect him to trust us if we never trust him?"

"God Callie, if you like him so much, why don't you marry him?" Marie asked exasperated, going to the kitchen to get some tea. Callie looked over her shoulder at the door. She contemplated going in there to talk to him, but both Gramps and Marie advised against it.

After a moment, she looked about to make sure no one was watching and silently crept inside. I'm ashamed to say the first thing she was was me, reaching desperately like a child towards a cookie jar just out of his reach. The tray was close, and I'd hoped if I could get ahold of it, I'd be able to eat something. It'd be the first bite I'd had all day.

When Callie walked to it and lifted it from it's resting place, my heart sank. So they did intend to starve me. Instead, however, she sat on the side of my bed and rested the tray in her lap where I could reach. "Sorry, I should have put it closer." She replied as I scarfed down the sandwich that was on the plate.

"It's fine." I muttered between bites, going quickly for more food. "I suppose it's fitting for a last meal."

"This is not your last meal." She whispered. "I don't care what Marie says, I'm not going to let you die. Even if you did plan on betraying us, which I know you didn't, I won't stoop to that level to let you die in my care."

I paused for a moment, my head hanging low. "Callie…"

"I'm serious Lusca. It's not fair to treat you like this."

"Callie! She's telling the truth...I did plan on betraying you." My words could barely be heard, but it was still enough to keep her stunned. "The Octarians wanted me to kill you and the rest of the crowd."

"Yeah, so?"

"What do you mean, 'yeah, so'? I betrayed you and Marie. I shouldn't have even considered it, but for a brief moment I did. I lost sight of everything and now, I need to pay the price for it."

"Well, can you tell me why?" She asked. "I mean, maybe…"

"No!" I snapped. "There's no excuse for it, Callie! I know you want to see some good in me, and I appreciate that. But you may just have to accept that I'm not good. I'm broken, okay? There's no coming back from this."

She just giggled. "We're all a little broken Lusca. But that's the point of friends, right? We help put the pieces back together again."

"I'm not your friend." I whispered softly.

"Lusca, don't say that…" she pleaded.

"It's true. I'm not your friend, I'm your pet. For days on end, I've been locked in this tiny room, with no way out. I know I told you I'd stay, but...this isn't how a friend lives."

She wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me close with a sniffle. "I'm so sorry Lusca."

"Me too." I replied, just before wrapping my arm around her throat. Her eyes went wide as she began to struggle, but I just leaned closer and whispered. "Don't worry Callie, I promise you won't feel a thing."

To be continued...


	8. Chapter 8

An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 8

AN: Hey everyone, sorry about taking so long with this chapter. I've been working on a new Table-top RPG system that I plan on publishing in the future. In fact, I'm almost three-fourths of the way done, I'm just looking for some artists who are willing to make some submissions. PM me if you'd like a list of needed artwork, and I'll gladly give you credit for your contributions. Also, be sure to join us tonight at 9PM CT for the live Twitch stream. The channel is FanoBelmont. It belongs to my good friend and roommate, but worry not I'll be there right alongside him for any Q's I can A. -Kiba

Callie's eyes went wide as she grasped onto my arm, trying to pry it away so she could get the precious air her body needed. This wasn't something I took joy in. Rather, inside her suffering was my suffering. Her flailing caused the tray to clatter to the ground as I watched her eyes roll upwards in her head. She continued to struggle until her body went limp. It was then that I quickly released her.

I placed my ear to her chest; thankfully she was still breathing. Searching her body, I found the key to the handcuffs that kept me trapped on the bed. I quickly twisted it into the lock before replacing Callie's wrist with my own. I wasn't sure if she could hear me. Even still, I whispered softly into her ear, "I'm sorry Callie. I can't stay here. When the Octarians find out that I've gone rogue...I can't let that fall back on you. I won't." Leaning closer, I gently kissed her forehead.

Turning away from her, I tossed the key on to the end table beside her sleeping head. I'd be long gone before she woke up. I quietly slid out of the room, shutting it behind me. "You went to talk to him, huh?" Marie's voice asked. Turning towards it, I saw she had her back to me.

"Sort of." I answered, causing her to wheel about in shock.

"Where's Callie?" she demanded.

"Alive and unharmed, save the awful headache she'll have when she wakes up." My assurance did little to comfort her as we began to circle each other. "I'm leaving Marie, and I'm not going to let you stop me."

"The Hell you are!" she snapped. "I'm not going to let you hurt more innocent people the same way you hurt Callie and me." Grasping a long knife from the kitchen, she lunged at me. I easily avoided her strike; she wasn't going to be able to fight me on even ground like this.

"I haven't hurt either of you." I protested calmly, dodging another slash from her blade. As she drove it down towards my chest, I grasped her wrist, holding it in place. "If anything, I've saved your life countless times. Maybe you find it easy to forget that I helped you escape from prison, or got you to your mother, or spared you when we fought in Octovalley, but I won't. Just like I won't forget all the times the two of you have saved me."

She made a grunt of effort, trying to overpower me. A foolish attempt, if anything. Striking outward with my hand, I smashed into her solar plexus, driving her to her knees gasping for air. Scooping up the knife, I placed the tip of it just before her nose.

"Remember this moment Marie. Once again I could have chosen to kill you, but didn't." I dropped the knife beside her, as she tried to stumble to her feet. "Stop fighting. You'll only get yourself hurt. I won't let the Octarians come for you. There's nothing you can do to keep me here anymore."

"Maybe not her, but I can." I turned to see Captain Cuttlefish standing at the door, another Electrozapper leveled at me.

"Don't start this." I pleaded. "You talked a big game about being a responsible warrior. Well, this is my responsibility."

"Hogwash." he retorted. "You're a prisoner of war son. As far as we're concerned, your only responsibility is to do what we tell you."

"Not any more." There was a flash of movement to my right, before I quickly spun, putting the blade she wielded against her own throat. "Really Marie?" I snarled, holding her like a human shield between the Captain and I. "Already, you've made another mistake."

The knife rested menacingly at her pale throat, only an inch from taking away her life as she struggled to be released. I could see the conflict in the eyes of the Captain.

"Your move, old man. Drop your weapon and kick it towards me, or risk firing it. One of two things happen: either Marie becomes paralyzed and ceases struggling, or you hit me and risk the knife dragging across her throat when my muscles spasm." He gritted his teeth, trying to decide what to do, when his eyes widened in surprise. What was he doing? Just as I opened my mouth to repeat my threat, there was a blinding pain behind my head. As I released Marie, I turned back to see a disheveled Callie wielding a frying pan. Surprisingly, I was still conscious. "Callie?" I groaned. "You're already awake?"

"I heard you." She whispered, just before a jolt of electricity flooded my body. I tried to absorb it into my neural systems, but another bolt continued to prove too much. I reached forward, attempting to crawl away, another zap sending me sprawling on the ground. "Gramps, stop!"

"He's awfully tough." Cuttlefish commented as I tried once again to rise. "How many times must I shoot you until you stay down, boy? You've still got a long life ahead of you, don't throw it away like this."

"You'll have...to kill...me." I snarled, but Callie crouched down in front of me and shook her head.

"Mr. Octoling, stop." She pleaded.

"Screw it, I'll do it." Marie sighed, picking up the blade, but Callie held up her hand indicating for her to stop."Seriously, Callie? He just tried to strangle you! How many times is this going to happen before you realize that he's dangerous?"

The dark-tentacled Inkling stood up quickly, storming to her cousin before slapping her across the face. "And how many times does he have to save us until you finally realize that he can be trusted?!" Callie demanded, causing Marie to look at her startled. "Don't you think I get what's at risk here? Do you think, that if I even had the shadow of a doubt in my mind that he would hurt us, that I'd even consider letting him live? We are supposed to be a team Marie, so stop acting like I'm some dumb bimbo! I know who is dangerous and who isn't, and right now I can promise you that he's only half as dangerous as your attitude!" The whole room fell into an awkward silence as I again tried to get back up. Callie's foot went down on to my back pinning me to the ground. "And you," she bellowed, "how dare you even think that it'd be okay to just leave like that? If they knew where you were, do you honestly think that leaving would stop them from coming here?"

She didn't understand, how could she? "You...don't...get...it." I whispered weakly. "It's not…"

"Shut up!" Callie snapped, the floodgates that normally kept her anger reserved starting to burst. "It's your turn to talk when I say it is, you got me?! And that goes for you too, Marie! I'm sick of being ignored, so now I'm turning up the bitch to eleven, and if either of you have a damned problem with that, you can take it up with me when I damn well feel like it!" Her chest rose and fell in anger as she waited, only to be greeted with silence. "Good! Now then," she turned me over and pointed the frying pan at my head, "you need to stop being such a whiny bitch. 'Oh no, I feel so torn. I'm betraying my people. They're coming to kill me.' Boo fucking hoo! You think we're not doing the exact same thing by keeping you here?! I think we've proven adequately that if Inkopolis were to find out we were hiding you that we'd be in a hell of a lot of trouble, so stop pretending like you're the only one who is causing any sort of trouble. Why do you think we're keeping you here in the first place? You think it's easy having to cook extra food and sneak you around like we have been? The reason you are here is because the other option is that we kill you, and I for one am sick of having to bury dead bodies after the five we had to stash after the fucking concert! So no, you can't leave, screw you, you're staying here and you'll fucking live with it!"

"Callie…" Captain Cuttlefish began.

"No Gramps! I'm sick of this! I will handle it, so please just stay out of it!"

He fell silent as her cousin growled. "You can't just treat us like this Callie!"

"Fuck off Marie, I'll get to you in a moment!" she snapped. "Now, I'll ask you Lusca, are you going to sit there and shut up like a good boy or am I going to have to put a dent in your mantle with a frying pan? If you think my headache was bad when I woke up, it'll look like a fucking cake walk when I'm done!" I silently nodded, causing her to take her foot off of my chest. "Gramps, keep your gun trained on him. If he tries to leave shoot him again."

Captain Cuttlefish snapped to attention in shock and replied, "Yes ma'am."

"Now it's your turn Marie, and before you say anything, I don't give a damn if you're just trying to protect me. You're just as bad as he is, as far as I'm concerned. I don't need someone to protect me; in case you've forgotten, I'm a secret agent too and I'm more than able to kill an Octarian without batting an eye! Remember that I am Agent 1 and you are Agent 2. Gramps gave me seniority because, even if you think you're so much smarter than me, I am still your elder! So get over yourself, we're doing things my way and my way is that he stays alive!"

The whole room remained quiet. "Callie," I began, just as Callie turned on me. I quickly held up my hands as she thrust the frying pan back in my face.

"You'd better make it good if you'd like to keep your facial structure." She snarled.

I swallowed nervously. "I just wanted to say...it's not like that."

"Shut up, Lusca." Marie protested, but Callie just shifted so the frying pan was now pointed at her cousin before nodding for me to proceed.

My eyes went to the silvery-tentacled Inkling, her eyes pleading that I keep our conversation a secret as I'd promised. "She doesn't want to see you as a little kid." I explained, causing Marie's eyes to sink sadly.

"What are you talking about?" Callie asked. "How do you know?"

I shifted nervously. "I promised not to say." I finally surrendered.

Marie's eyes lit up for a moment, causing Callie to look between us both confused. "Something happened…" she muttered, her hand beginning to shake as the gears in her head began to turn. "Something happened between you two."

"No." Her cousin quickly protested. "Nothing happened."

"Gramps," Callie whispered, "escort Mr. Octoling to his room. Make sure he doesn't come out until I'm done talking to him."

I felt the shock pistol jab into my back as he pressured me towards the room, allowing me one final look at Marie before the door shut. Now that I was gone, she turned back to her cousin. "Callie…" she began.

"No Marie, let me ask you something first."

Agent 2 nodded her head. "Okay. What do you want to ask?"

"You love him, don't you?"

An awkward silence sank over the two as Marie's cheeks became a rosy red. She wasn't sure she knew the answer, but she couldn't bring herself to say so. "No." She assured her. "I don't."

Meanwhile, Captain Cuttlefish had his ear pressed to the door as I looked at him confused. "Shouldn't we give them some privacy?" I asked.

"Shh!" He hissed. "This is important stuff. Curse my old age, I used to have ears like a bat."

"Ears like a what?"

"Shh!"

Callie stood before her cousin, arms crossed. "Why won't you look me in the eye?" She demanded. "Are you scared I'll find out you're lying?"

"I'm not!" Marie argued, meeting her eyes before quickly avoiding her gaze again. "Look, I don't want to talk about his right now."

"That's too bad!" Callie snapped, her temper rising. "We're addressing it now! How could you be so hypocritical Marie? You always tell me that my feelings are blinding me, and here you are in love with the man you keep insisting we kill!"

"I'm not in love with him!" Marie shouted, causing me to jump in the other room.

"What in the hell?" I muttered.

"Damn it, I still can't hear a blasted thing." Cap'n Cuttlefish complained, but I quickly nudged him aside to join him against the door.

"I'm not." She repeated, this time more calmly. "I know you don't believe that, but it's true."

After a brief moment, her cousin spoke up. "I think I might be."

"Please don't say that." Marie pleaded. "That's not what I want to hear."

"I don't care what you want to hear Marie. It's true. I think I may be in love with him."

"You can't even remember his name, Callie." She pointed out, trying to hide the desperation in her voice. "How can you love someone whose name you can't remember?"

"I remember his name!"

"No, you don't! You keep calling him Mr. Octoling! Unless he's changed it while he's been here, I'm certain that's not his name."

"I know his name, it's Lus...Lusc…" Her voice began to tremble as well as her body. "I know it." She assured her cousin. "I just can't bring myself to say it. When I try, my tongue gets all tied and my hearts begin to pound in my chest."

"How can you even say that?" Marie asked. "We've known him for all of a week now! You can't love someone in less than a week."

"Then why did you kiss him?!" Callie accused. "You kissed him when he first broke us out, so how can you even say that?"

"I've already explained that." She shot back. "I don't have to explain it again."

"Why are you keeping this a secret from me?" Callie begged. "Why can't you just tell me how you feel about him? If you love him too, that's okay! We're cousins, it's normal for us to discuss these things."

"Not when he's an Octoling who's our prisoner!" She boomed, causing Callie to fall silent. "You want to know how I feel about him? How I feel about everything that's happened?"

"Yes."

"Fine! I don't know how I feel! I don't know what to think or say when you keep asking me why I did what I did! I keep trying to remember the training Gramps gave us, and to just keep reminding myself of what's at stake, but it's not working anymore. Is that what you want to hear? That I doubt myself and my judgment so much that I'd rather see a guy that I may or may not love dead, rather than find out later that this was all just a ruse for our enemy to take advantage of you?"

"Of me?!" Callie argued. "How is this my fault?"

"Because you're the one who brought him here!" Marie finally snapped. "You're the one who aborted that Inkstrike and kept us from killing him when we had the chance! You say that you're the leader and that you're the responsible and mature one, but if that's true then why in the world do I keep ending up in your messes?!"

Both girls stood there, staring each other down as their chests rose and fell heavily. "So that's how you really feel about it, huh?" Callie asked.

"You're damn right."

I could hear the sound of approaching footsteps, and immediately tore myself from the door, just in time for Callie to rip it open. Noting that her Grandfather had been trying to eavesdrop, her glare fiercened, but instead she ignored it and looked to me. "Grab your things." She ordered, causing me to look at her confused.

"What?"

"I said, 'Grab your things'. We're leaving." She waited for me to hurriedly stuff my belongings into a tote bag, before brushing past her cousin. Shoving me through the front door, she turned back to glare at Marie. "Well congratulations Marie, you won't have to worry about my messes anymore! Have a nice life."

With that she slammed the door shut behind her, leaving the dumbfounded Marie standing alone in the living room. As the Cap'n went to go after Callie, Marie stopped him. "No. Let her go." She whispered, before turning away and going to pick up her own things.

"What was all that about?" I asked, as Callie continued to drag me away from the shack.

"Don't worry about it." She huffed, looking back at me before her expression mellowed out. "I bet you're glad to finally have some fresh air."

"Don't try to change the subject." I lectured. "I don't think you realize how badly you've hurt her just now."

"What do you care?" Callie snapped angrily before catching herself. "Sorry, I'm just...can we not talk about her right now? I'm not in the mood. Let's just go before something else happens."

"Go?" I repeated. "Go where?"

"Your place, obviously. We can't stay in Inkopolis. Marie would probably try to find us or something, so we need to go to Octovalley. It's only fair, I mean we kept you as a prisoner of war."

"Absolutely not!" I shouted, ripping my wrist from her grip, causing her to spin on me. "I'm not taking you to Octovalley!"

"Why the hell not?" She demanded. "Is there something wrong with me? I bet you'd take Marie, right?"

"No, I wouldn't take either of you! You two just don't get it do you? This…" I gestured to the city around us. "This is a paradise in comparison to what awaits you down there. Our lives are awful! We don't have hardly any power or electricity because we're living on DJ Octavio's scraps. What little food and water we have has to be rationed out because there are too many of us and not nearly enough to go around. Being brought here was probably the best and worst thing that's ever happened to me, and I'm not going to be the one to put you or anyone else through that ordeal!"

Callie's gaze was serious and intense. "Well, too bad. I don't care, you're bringing me to your house or else I'll make you."

"You could beat me to death before I'd take you there." I growled

"Why are you doing this?" She finally asked. "Can't you see I'm trying to escape from here? You don't know what it's like Mr. Octoling. This city is my prison."

I took a deep breath. "I'm not taking you prisoner."

"You made me take you prisoner! Why won't you do that for me?"

"Octarians do NOT take prisoners!" I bellowed causing her to flinch. "Don't you get it? When an Inkling comes down to Octovalley, that's the end of their life. We don't have enough food or power to run jails and prisons. We just kill them. That's it. There's no capture, no POW's, no interrogations, nothing. If the shoe had been on the other foot Callie, I'd have ended your life in half a heart-beat, because that's what I was trained to do."

She fell silent before replying. "So you'd still do that to me?"

"Of course not."

"Then…"

"I said, 'No' Callie! I don't care where you want to go or hide, but we can't go back to Octovalley. I can't go back to Octovalley. When I went to your concert, I went knowing I was going to have to kill you and Marie. That squad had set up an assassination attempt for you and the crowd. I'd have done it, too."

"Fine." She hissed. "If you won't take me, I'll go by myself."

As she went to leave, my hand snatched her wrist and with a fluid movement, I hip-tossed her to the ground. "I won't let you." I snarled, before she swept my legs out from under me.

"I don't care! I'm not staying here." She shot back, throwing another punch at me. I easily avoided it, throwing her again with a heavy thud against the ground. Her anger was getting the best of her, and in her eyes there was a certain sadness that I knew meant she wouldn't be surrendering this fight, no matter how hard I hit her. As we stood back up, I waited patiently for her to came back towards me.

"Yes, you are." I demanded, causing her to lash out again. I caught her fist and twirling her, pulled her to me in the same choke hold as before. This time however, my grip was soft and gentle. I drew her back against my chest, restraining her there, but keeping little pressure on her throat. "I can't let you leave." I whispered in her ear, my voice dropping to a hushed tone.

Immediately, her struggles ceased. After a moment, she pushed back against me, a soft hand resting on my arm that was wrapped around her. "Why are you doing this? Why won't you let me leave with you? Are you so desperate to get away from me?"

"Callie…" I murmured, her fingertips trailing along my flesh affectionately.

"Marie likes you." She replied.

"I know."

"So you heard us?"

"Yes...but you're wrong. She doesn't love me." I replied.

Callie shook her head. "You don't know that. She doesn't even know that."

"She may not know, but I do." I answered.

There was a brief pause. "How?"

"Because she's right. You can't love someone after knowing them for a week. It's the same way that I know you don't love me."

Callie turned to look at me, and silently, wrapped her arms around the back of my neck, drawing herself closer against me. Instinctively, my hands went to her waist, as we held each other close. "You can't know what's in my hearts."

"I know that there's kindness. Right now, your cousin needs that kindness."

"She doesn't want to see me." She retorted. "All she sees me as is a mess to clean up."

"That's not true." I chastised. "Your cousin loves you, more than you could ever know. You want to know what we talked about?" Her head bobbed up and down in affirmation. "She told me she kissed me because she's jealous of you. She wanted to know what it was like to be the little sister for once, instead of the big one. She feels responsible for you, because she feels like she has to be so you can be happy."

"But, that's not…" Callie protested. "I mean, she never…" She struggled to form sentences as she tried to come up with an explanation.

I just smiled at her and looking over her shoulder at the shack, Marie still stood in the living room, just staring at the far wall. "I have a plan." I whispered to her. "Go in there, tell her that you're sorry and ask her what she thinks you should do."

"I know what she'll say. She wants to kill you."

"Then agree." I stated, causing her eyes to widen.

"No! I can't just…"

"She won't do it. She's bluffing. I think the reason she keeps saying she wants to kill me, is because she wants to see if you'll still rely on her. She's hurt because she thinks that you don't trust her, so show her that you put more faith in her than you do in me."

Callie's eyes began to water as she backed away for a moment and wiped her eyes. "What if she does kill you?" She sobbed. "Then how will I ever forgive myself?"

"Do you trust her?"

"Of course, I do! She's my cousin!"

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Then you've nothing to worry about. Go, I'll wait right here."

Callie turned away from me, giving my hand one gentle squeeze for courage and returned to the door, leaving me to stand there as I watched the two of them through the window.

As she entered the cabin, Marie looked surprised to see her come back. "Forget something?" She asked, trying to hide the redness of her eyes. "I thought you never wanted to see me again."

"I'm sorry." Callie apologized, causing Marie to fall silent. "I don't want to leave you, Marie."

Marie quickly grabbed Callie and pulled her into a tight hug. "I love you so much Callie!" She whimpered. "Please, don't leave me. I don't want anything to come between us. You're my cousin...no, you're my sister!"

Gramps stood in the corner silently, still unsure of what to say. "Girls?"

"Not now, Gramps." Callie answered, hugging her back. "We're kind of having a moment right now."

"But…"

"Please." Marie replied. "Promise you won't leave."

"I promise. And Marie, I don't know what to do...please help me. I need you to tell me what we should do."

"Girls…"

"WHAT?" Marie snapped at him, upset that he ruined the mood.

He pointed at the window with a trembling finger. "He's gone."

Callie straightened immediately. "No." She muttered. "No, no, no." As the both of them rushed to the window, they peered out to see that the lot was completely vacant.

"You've got to be kidding me! He gave us the slip, again?" Callie turned and sank against the wall as Marie's eyes continued to scan the horizon for any sign of life.

I stood absolutely still, my flesh now completely translucent. The last thing I wanted was to be proved wrong. I'd stand here all night if I had to until they stopped looking for me. The sooner I could disappear, the better it would be.

"It looks like Gramps was right. He must have left when you came back in." Marie murmured.

"So it's all my fault...again." Callie stated, hurt and confused.

"I'm sorry I kept blaming you Callie." Marie whispered, helping her to her feet. "But this proves it now, he's been trying to deceive us this whole time. He's been trying to pick at us and tear us apart, and now that he has, he's used the chaos to slip away. We have to find him and stop him."

The pink-clad beauty nodded. "Alright." She responded. "Let's get him. This time, we'll make him pay." Despite her serious expression, however, inside a small flame of joy flared into life. She didn't realize this had been his plan all along, but now she knew, once and for all, she truly did love him. Now, she'd chase him to the ends of the Earth. "Gramps, give us guns."

Walking to their armory, they began to tug on their secret agent uniforms. "So how are you planning on finding him?" Cap'n Cuttlefish asked.

"We have the advantage." Callie explained. "While he's navigating he has to try to sneak around, but we can just walk about like normal. We'll intercept him on his way to the Valley. Keep him from re-entering the kettles."

"I disagree." Marie interrupted, selecting her favorite charger from the wall and strapping the ink tank to her back. "We know he's smart, really smart. He'd expect us to go there. I say we follow his tracks in the dust. He couldn't have gone too far."

Callie, going for a more compact weapon, grabbed the aerospray. She personally preferred the roller, but with it's weight she knew it would only serve to slow her down. Stepping out, she witnessed her cousin standing there in the dirt, staring intently at the ground. "Something wrong?"

"The tracks stop here." She muttered, leaning down to investigate.

I held my breath tightly. Already, I could feel the hot air from her lips against my thigh. I couldn't move though. Even an inch, and she'd probably be able to feel it. Looking up from the sand, I found myself staring into her golden eyes. I knew she couldn't see me, but even still my heart skipped a beat. If anyone could see the awkward position we'd found ourselves in...well it'd be difficult to explain what was happening. For a moment, it seemed like she was going to draw back, until she swung forward with a jab and struck me hard in the gut.

With a cough, I sank to my knees. My eyes opened to see hers glaring at me. "Was...that truly...necessary?" I hacked, using my arm to shakily support myself. With a click, I heard the charger starting to power up.

"You've got a five second head-start." She growled. "Trying to escape again, after you caused so much chaos? That's ridiculous."

"N-no!" Callie called, causing Marie to let out a frustrated groan.

"Really?"

Callie gently stood beside her cousin, leveling the nozzle of her weapon in my face. "Let me do it." She calmly stated, causing me to look into her eyes. I couldn't even tell if she was playing along anymore. I know that I tried to escape again, but would she couldn't have guessed that.

Shouldering her charger, she nodded. "Fine. I'll let you handle it." She whispered, turning away from her before whispering in her ear. "Thanks. I don't know if I could bring myself to do it."

"Y-yeah." Callie stammered. This wasn't what she planned, it didn't seem like Marie was going to back down. Her hand began to tremble as she pressed the nozzle against my forehead. Steeling herself with a nervous swallow she nodded to me. "Alright Marie, just give the word…"

"Good bye, Lusca." Marie called over her shoulder.

I could see the conflict in Callie's eyes as her finger slowly squeezed down on the trigger.

To be continued...


	9. Chapter 9

An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 9

 **Author's Note: So I'm not much for writing incredibly sad stuff. Often my own emotions become tangled in my stories (which is why I like writing romances). However, as Confucius once said, "You cannot know joy, unless you know sorrow as well." That being said...WARNING: This chapter contains disturbing and depressing imagery. For those who suffer from depression, the material discussed within is not meant to be taken lightly, nor should it be. Suicide is never the answer and if you find yourself thinking suicidal thoughts, discuss it with your friends and family, or call your local Suicide Hotline. If you ever wish to talk to someone who won't judge you about something that troubles you, I'm also always available through Private Messaging or through my Skype: Polaris Vulpus Elunal. As always, I wish you all the best of luck in life and literature. -Kiba**

Callie's hand began to tremble as she stared down the barrel into my eyes. I was completely stoic, it wouldn't be but a short time until Marie changed her mind. Time seemed to slow down, and every moment that passed made me realize, Marie may not change her mind. But if she didn't...I didn't envy the pressure that Callie must have been feeling.

Her torn loyalty was evident in her gaze and her shaking grasp as her finger slowly flexed, moving the trigger in and out. It was an agonizing process, but inside I knew where her loyalties truly lie. She was going to shoot me, I would die, and the Squid Sisters would be no more. I didn't want that, not because I was afraid to die, but because I couldn't bear the thought of Callie having to stay with that guilt. It was one thing to kill a random soldier, it was another to lose two friends one after another. "M-marie?" She groaned hoarsely. Her mouth felt dry from the terror at what she had to do.

"It's alright, Callie. You were right, I don't love him. He's the enemy, and even if I question why, it doesn't change that he is." She replied, nonchalantly. "Just splat him, and we'll dissolve his body into goo. Then we'll just wash him off the sidewalk and call it a day."

The dark-tentacled Inkling only shook more, the panic in her features becoming even more evident. "Callie." I whispered so only she could hear me. "Listen to me, I can get you out of this. But I need you to drop the gun."

"Make sure the safety's off." Marie reminded her. "The trigger won't pull otherwise."

"Callie, drop the gun." I repeated, enunciating it clearly. If she released the weapon, I could stage an escape, using Callie as a faux shield from her cousin's charger before vanishing again. I'd leave, but at least Callie wouldn't have to replay my death in her head over and over again.

"Callie?"

"Callie!"

"Are you going to shoot him?"

"You need to drop the gun."

"STOP!" She cried out at the top of her lungs. "Stop, please!" She sank to her knees, covering her eyes as she began to sob painfully. "I don't want to kill anyone anymore! I just want us all to be friends!"

Marie and I both fell silent. As her cousin turned to face us both, she gave a sneer. "I knew it. I knew you two planned this whole thing." She muttered, storming up to us both. "You wanted me to back out, to show that I was some weak little flower, right? Well screw you, Callie! Screw both of you! I'm not some half-wit, and damn it if you won't kill him, I will!"

Her barrel swung pointing towards my forehead as it began to rev up its pressure chamber. Just as she released the trigger, there was another rapid hiss as a stream of ink sent the gun sprawling from her hands. The purple liquid bubbled on the ground, dissolving it away along with the remains of the gun. "Oh no." I muttered, realizing what the substance was. I opened my mouth to tell the cousins to flee, but not before Callie's eyes opened wide in shock.

A small hole was pierced through her chest, leaving the sizzling fluid oozing on her torso as the unseen assailant fired their shot through her. Scooping up her gun, I turned where I thought it'd come from and began firing wildly. "Marie, get her inside now!" I demanded, easily brushing the Octo Ink from her to prevent it from burning more of her flesh away.

I hear another revving of a pressure tank, and managed to leap in the way just in time for the Octo Ink to splash harmlessly on my chest. "Callie, you'll be okay." Marie assured her as she dragged her cousin towards the shack. By this time, Captain Cuttlefish had come out to see what the commotion was.

A blast of ink sent his hat flying, causing him to hustle for cover from the monstrous assassin. Marie almost had Callie in the door when the charge shot fired again, splatting against the wall next to her and bubbling furiously. "Stop it!" I demanded to the invisible Octoling.

"No," came the feminine voice in my ear. I struck out behind me, but my arm was caught and I felt her brace it against the gun before a force struck me hard in the throat, causing me to cough on my words. "I'm disappointed in you Lusca. I taught you better than this."

The realization struck me as I tilted the gun over my shoulder and fired it, sending a small pinkish tentacle writhing on the ground, followed by a hiss of pain. "Amy…" I gasped, leveling the gun once more.

Now it was my turn to be trembling. "At least you remember something." She mused before shooting the firearm from my hand with a hip shot. "You should have known someone would come for you, Lusca." As she spoke, her foot stomped down on her own tentacle, grinding it into the dirt.

"Not you." I replied. Behind me, the aerospray was a molten mass of metal. It would never shoot again. "I didn't think you'd ever be the one to come after me."

"Not on my own choice, you're right." She hummed, walking closer towards me. I quickly took a step back from her. "But you did a bad...you betrayed our people, and for what? A couple of mindless, hedonistic, beasts? For shame."

"I know you don't still buy into that bullshit propaganda." I muttered. "We wouldn't struggle to fight against mindless beasts."

Her eyes turned towards the shack, where Marie and Captain Cuttlefish were rushing towards us, now rearmed. She leveled her barrel and fired it, sending them both scattering for cover. Changing her angle slightly, she fired at the door, slamming it shut and knocking the porch's support down to barricade it. "Like I said, mindless beasts." She retorted, as if she'd just provided substantial proof.

"You know that gun won't work on me." I snarled, stepping back from her as she continued her advance. "Octolings are immune to Octo Ink."

"Right you are!" She clapped, tossing aside her weapon before placing her fists in front of her. "Guess we'll just have to do this the old fashioned way."

* * *

Marie slammed hard against the door with her shoulder, letting out a frustrated scream. "Gramps, she blocked us in! Please tell me there's another way out!"

"Not unless you plan on exposing yourself through the window." He called back, hunched over Callie's body. "Come on, Squiddo. You're not allowed to die before your grandpa." He hissed, trying his best to stop the blood that was pooling out of the wound. "The old should never have to bury the young."

Completely conscious, Callie attempted to speak, but only managed to cough up a spurt of blood before trying to sit up, but her grandfather, even in his old age, kept her pinned tightly to the ground.

"Don't move an inch." He commanded. "That bitch managed to pierce one of your lungs. You're lucky she didn't get one of your hearts."

Marie hurled her gun across the room in frustration. "This is all that bastard's fault!" She snarled. "Callie would be fine if it wasn't for him." She crawled over to her cousin and took her hand. "I'm sorry. If I'd killed him sooner, none of this would have happened."

Cuttlefish's eyes brimmed with fury, and for the first time in his life he struck his granddaughter, causing her to look up at him in shock. "I've had about enough of your mouth, missy!" He lectured. "He has done plenty to prove himself! Maybe you didn't see it, but if he hadn't stepped in front of that second shot, you'd be lying on the ground right next to her! If you hadn't pressured her into shooting him, she wouldn't have even been out there. So stop being a plankton brain and go get some clean towels and some hot water. Your cousin ain't dead yet and if you shut up and do as you're told, she'll stay that way!"

For a moment, Marie was stunned. When at last, she regained her composure she only nodded and stood, going to fetch the things her Gramps had requested. "M-m-marie…" Callie wheezed as he also left her side, rummaging around through the cabinets for something to stop the bleeding. He was going to need a strong drink after this.

* * *

Amy swung another fist at me, barely giving me time to recover from dodging it by then lashing out with a brutal kick to my stomach that sent me stumbling backwards. Damn it, she hit me in the exact same spot Marie had. "Why couldn't you just leave me alone?" I grunted, trying to keep my distance.

"You've only yourself to blame." She whispered behind me. I couldn't believe how fast she was. A force like a cannon blasted through my back sending me sprawling into the Ink with a pained grunt. "You killed the recon team. Worse you didn't even finish the job. Well...these are the mistakes of your past cracking down on you."

Rolling over, I tried to get up but she slammed her foot down on my chest. "So, you wanted me to kill her?" I hissed, grasping her ankle tightly. "Was five not enough bodies for your taste?"

With a quick jerk, I snapped her forward on to her face, bending her leg back to keep her restrained in position. "Of course that's not what I wanted." She replied, managing to twist free before coiling her limbs around my like a serpent. As she began to tighten on my throat, she leaned closer to purr in my ear. "But I taught you to finish a job. Leave no witnesses, remember? If it's any consolation, I'm proud of you for being able to actually kill them. If you like, I'll show you how it's done with those two girls." She placed a kiss on my cheek as my vision began to go black.

Was this how I was going to die? Gripping her arm, I tried desperately to tear her grasp away from my throat, unable to appreciate the irony that this was probably what Callie felt just earlier. Managing to barely move it away I groaned. "I've picked up a few tricks since we last met." That was when I released it. Every ounce of the zapfish energy I'd contained from the Captain's assault, spread from my body faster than the blink of an eye. I clung to her to complete the circuit, causing the electricity to continue to cycle itself through our bodies. Now that I'd absorbed it, I'd repeatedly shove it in and draw it out of her, each time taking a bit of her neural electricity. I could feel my insides burning as she spasmed out of control.

There was a stabbing pain in my chest as one of my hearts failed, causing me to wheeze, but still I held on. I'd kill us both if I had to. I could see in her gaze that she was experiencing the same agony I was, but I wouldn't let her hurt Callie, not again! "Let...me...go." She winced, her chest starting to seize less and less. Now I could feel two hearts gone, and with one last desperate sigh she fell still, and I knew I'd killed her.

I cut off the circuit as quickly as I could, rolling over on to my back away from her as I gasped for air. I was dying, I could tell. The single heart that I hadn't fried pumped in my agonizing body, and I could only pray that my end would come soon to spare me from the awful suffering I was experiencing.

As my vision began to fade, I could see an emerald shaped blur, coming from the shack towards me. What was that? As she came closer, my eyes gained just enough focus to identify Marie, and despite her earlier words, she looked concerned. Picking up her charger, she held the tip of it at Amy's forehead. What was she doing? Amy wouldn't...there was a brief moment where the charger revved before a spurt of blue blood arced into the air, landing on my face.

She shot Amy, right through her temple. I closed my eyes, waiting for her to do the same to me. At last, I reasoned, this would be it. She'd be happy I was gone, Callie would hurt for a bit, but with luck she'd come to forget I even existed. At least it wasn't Callie who pulled the trigger. As my final heart began to slow its rhythm, I could see a bright jade light beckoning me closer to it.

As I approached it, I could hear strange and awful sounds. The noises were garbled and distorted, but even still I could understand them as if they were crystal clear. "In His House, He Dreams." What the hell was that?

As I emerged into the light, my head reeled in terror. A caustic light flooded over me, my eyes flowing over the alien and horrifying structures that spiraled upwards from the ground. Twisted figures seemed to slither from what I could only assume to be buildings, approaching me and lashing to me tightly. "No, no!" I pleaded, but I found that my mouth could not emit any sound other than the dialect that pierced into my brain.

The abominations began to drag me through what I now knew was water, a stream of air bubbles trailing from my lips to escape towards the surface. I clawed at the water, trying to get to safety where precious air waited for my lungs. Four of the figures pinned me to the ground, a fifth looming over me with a wicked-looking blade raised high above its head.

As the curved steel of the kris came down towards my chest, I opened my eyes with a blood-curdling scream that made Marie jump back with a start. In my pectoral, a needle protruded menacingly, the source of the pain. Taking it out, I hurled it away before looking at the still horrified Inkling. "What did you inject me with?" I demanded.

"Not poison." She assured me. "Your hearts had stopped, so I had to restart them." Her eyes sank slightly, and that was when I realized that it was the first time she'd seen me without my shirt on.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." I mumbled, scooping it up from the ground beside me and slipping it on. "What happened to Amy?"

Marie frowned. "You don't remember?"

I shook my head. My entire body was still shaking from what I experienced. Could it really have been a nightmare? "No." I whispered. "The last thing I remember was…" My eyes widened. "Where's Callie?!"

"Shhh!" Marie snapped. "She's resting."

"So...she's okay?"

The younger Inkling shook her head. "Gramps said the shot pierced one of her hearts. He tried to patch her up to the best of his abilities, but we'll have to wait through the night to see if she pulls through."

My hearts sank as I heard the news. "I'm so sorry, Marie. I didn't mean for any of this to happen." Covering my face with my hands, I chuckled through the tears. "It always seems like trouble follows me, wherever I go."

"You called her 'Amy'. Did you know her?"

"Yeah." I replied, sniffling to keep my composure. "She was my mentor when I was drafted into the military. She taught me hand-to-hand combat specifically; she even used to tell me that I was her best pupil."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Marie whispered.

Her response surprised me. "Marie? Did something else happen?"

"I just...had my eyes opened is all." She stood, shaking her head and wiping a tear away. "I'm relieved you're okay. I'll let you rest now, too. I'm sorry...again. Goodbye, Lusca." As she vanished through the doorway, my head rested back on the pillow.

I wanted to ponder her strange behavior, but as soon as she mentioned my rest, I realized just how exhausting the day had been. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, praying that I wouldn't find myself in the same nightmare I had earlier.

* * *

Marie sighed, leaving Lusca's room and returning to the entrance of Callie's. The dark tentacled Inkling lay completely still, her arms folded over her chest. As Marie stepped inside, she sniffled again. The tears just wouldn't stop coming, it seemed. "Hey cos." She whispered, knowing that she was unable to hear her. That wouldn't stop her from speaking of course, she was used to talking to people who couldn't speak to her. _Maybe_ , she mused, _that's why I'm so screwed up._

Sitting beside her, she lifted up one of her long tentacles, stroking it affectionately.

"He's okay." She informed her. "Nearly gave me a heart attack the way he screamed when he woke up. I'll admit, when he told me he couldn't remember me putting down that bitch who shot you and carrying his unconscious ass back here, I was actually relieved. Part of me hoped he'd even forget the way I've treated him lately...and you."

Her tears began to rain down from her cheeks on to her sister's tentacle. Wiping her eyes with one of her arms she couldn't even begin to formulate an apology.

"You know I'm not good with these things." She finally began, her voice trembling. "I...I should have treated you better. You were my cousin and my sister. And let's be honest, you were the only friend I've ever really had." Marie paused, taking deep breaths to try to keep from bursting into sobs again. They didn't help. "We did everything together, you know? Ever since we were just little kids, it was always Callie and Marie. People never even realized that we weren't actually sisters."

She almost smiled through her tears reflecting back on their childhood. "But something happened, you know? As time went on, I stopped seeing you as my sister. You were just this...weight, that in my head was dragging me down to your level. I tried to paint myself as some sort of martyr for having to bail you out of the situations you got yourself in, when in truth I was just jealous I couldn't be in them with you anymore. I started to resent you for the all the fun you had."

Sniffling, she again wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I thought, 'My life is so unfair. I'm stuck having to babysit my cousin who should be more mature, while she gets to spend her life happy and smiling.' It was always your problem, it was never mine. When you told me that you loved him, I'll admit it hurt a lot. But even then, you tried to tell me that you would always love me, even if we fell for the same guy, you'd never come to hate me."

The stillness in the room disturbed her greatly, but she knew she had to resist the urge to burst out of there. This was important. Callie needed to hear her words, because Marie knew she'd never hear them again. "Then, I was such a bitch to you. I called you names; told you you were dumb and weak. I wanted you to hurt the same way I was hurting, to realize what it was like to lose someone the way I felt like I'd lost you. I don't know if you loved him or not, but either way I shouldn't have put the gun in your hands like that. If it had been me, maybe...I don't know, maybe I would be the one laying in that bed instead while you bawled your eyes out over me. It never even occurred to me that you lost me first. You were always smiling, but it wasn't for your benefit, it was for mine. You wanted me to be happy, to tell me that things could always go back to the way they were before."

She paused for a moment. "But you were wrong, Callie. We can never go back to the way we were when we were kids. The truth is, I'm not worthy of being your sister, and sometimes I feel like I never was. A sister wouldn't treat you the way I did, and I'm so very sorry that I made this happen to you. I'm sorry. I know that's hard to believe because I almost never say it, but it's true, I'm so very sorry, and now you won't even be able to forgive me because of my ignorance."

Standing up, the younger Inkling slung her bag over her back. "Listen Callie, I have to go. I wish I could say you were the only person I needed to talk to…" Sniffling, she looked at her cousin one last time before uttering her two final words. "Good bye."

* * *

It was a while later I found myself being shaken awake. "Lusca," the voice hissed, "Lusca get up!"

"Marie…" I groaned. "Not that I don't appreciate you visiting me, but right now I think Callie should be the one you're checking on."

"That...will prove difficult." The voice answered, revealing it to be more masculine. Sitting up, I realized that it was Captain Cuttlefish, his eyes somber and sullen. "I know you're hurting Lusca, but we have a major problem."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He took a deep breath, and I knew it was his way of telling me to brace myself. "Marie's gone."

Swinging my legs off of the bed, I was up in an instant. I stumbled a bit, unused to being on my feet as my body tried to refresh its memory. "Geez, how long have I been out?" I muttered.

"It's common after being shocked. Sometimes your spasming muscles need to recalibrate." He informed me. "It's still the same day."

"I'll find her Captain, don't worry." I assured him, wrapping the cloth around my head once again. "If she plans on skipping town, I know somewhere she'll have to stop first." Walking towards the door, he cleared his throat.

"Sorry squiddo, you'll have to go through the window. The door is still barricaded, I'm afraid." I let out an impatient sigh but nodded, slipping into the outside. "Oh, Lusca...one last thing."

"Yeah?"

"Be gentle with her. I know she's not the easiest to get along with but…"

"Save your breath, Captain. I already know." I grinned, stepping out and heading towards the hospital. I knew that Marie wouldn't ever consider leaving without visiting her mother.

When I finally got there, I walked to the counter to see the same nurse that had visited her mother before.

"Excuse me, ma'am."

"Yes sir? How can I help you?"

He scratched the back of his neck. What the heck was he going to tell her? "I'm looking for Marie Cuttlefish. I'm her new bodyguard, but I figured I'd give her privacy while she visited her mother. Is she still here? I kind of fell asleep on the job."

The nurse let out a disapproving 'hmmph'. "Not that I think you deserve it if you intend on napping all day, but Ms. Cuttlefish just left a little while ago. After all that nasty business, she needs protection, so if you hurry you may catch her."

Crap, she'd already left! "How long ago?" I demanded, taking the nurse aback by the sudden anxiety in my voice.

"Like a few minutes. What's the big deal? It's not like the busses are running this late anyway? Just look around, I'm sure she'll turn up. Damn."

"S-sorry. I'm just really passionate about my job."

"Mmhm." She muttered sarcastically. "Get out of my damned hospital before I punch you in the face like I want to."

Turning away from her, I quickly fled out into the street. The busses aren't running this late? Then where the hell did that girl plan on going? A sickening feeling of dread came over me. She never intended to leave the city. "Please, please." I begged. "Don't let me be too late."

As Marie stepped on to the docks, she tucked her hands in her pockets looking out over the sunset. It really was beautiful. The way Lusca appreciated it had seemed to make it more so for her, seeing as she had never really stopped to enjoy it before. On the rig, a ways off, she could make out glow-in-the-dark ink that some kids were using for a night game of turf war, and for a moment she actually smiled.

Walking further out, she went into the open boathouse that stood abandoned for so long. As beautiful as the beach was, no one ever really cared too much for staying on the water. She knew this would be the place to do what she came to do, and finding an old stool she stood it up and got to work.

Weaving the rope this way and that, she finally had a thick slipknot to use as a noose. She'd heard this was pretty quick somewhere, though she couldn't recall where. Slipping the rope around her neck, she took a few deep breaths. Already she could hear the news reports about her untimely death.

They'd speculate this or that, how she had slept with so and so, or such and such cult targeted her. She'd considered leaving a note, but she when she tried to write it her hand wouldn't stop shaking. Finally, she gave up on it all together. It wasn't as if she'd be missed anyway.

Her body was petrified as she tried to overcome her final hurdle. As much as she chastised Callie for being weak, she herself was very afraid of what came after. She knew this would be the last stop, the final destination. Her eyes began to water again. No! No tears! She commanded herself to be brave, for once in her life. This was what everyone wanted, it was what everyone needed.

She swallowed nervously, her foot seeking the edge of the stool. She'd only just nudge it a little she decided, so that if it didn't end immediately she'd be able to try something else. The last thing she wanted was to suffer, as much as she felt she deserved it.

As I finally arrived at the pier, my fears were realized. Marie was about to hang herself. I began to run as fast as I could down the pier. My hearts burned in protest, literally. I knew they wouldn't be able to handle much strain, but I didn't have a choice, I couldn't let her do this to herself.

"Marie, don't!" I cried out before coughing violently and stumbling over my own footsteps to fall to the ground. I scrambled to get back up. "Don't do it!" I tried to cry again, but this time it was a far more raspy sound than before. My lungs, it seemed, didn't escape unscathed either.

She turned towards me quickly in surprise, causing the stool beneath her to topple over into the water. She began to choke, one hand reaching for the rope at her neck, the other reaching out to me, as if pleading for help.

"Marie, no!" I shouted, before coughing up a spew of blood. I began to hobble towards her, but with almost half of the pier between us, I knew it would take a miracle to reach her in time.

To be continued...


	10. Chapter 10

An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 10

 **Author's Note: Hey everyone, sorry it took so long to update. I know my roommate and I haven't twitched in a while, because we're getting so busy with the upcoming holidays. I can't say when the next one will be as of yet, but I do have some news. I've recently finished my second original novel called Warren High, and I'm looking for Beta Readers if anyone is interested in taking a look. Right now, I have an editor running through it, but I still have the rough draft available, and the edited copy will be available within the first week of January. It's a paranormal/mystery that's for teenage audiences. If you are interested send me a PM with your Skype or email so I can send it your way. Needless to say, it is copyrighted, but you're more than welcome to read it if. -Kiba**

Marie's eyes began to bulge as the noose tightened around her throat. The startling voice had caused her to lose her footing on the stool, sending it tumbling off of the pier and into the ocean. But...the death wasn't quick. Her mind realized what was happening and began to try to save itself, her legs kicking madly for any sort of perch that could save her.

Her hands reached upward, trying desperately to grasp the rope and save herself, but with her neck held in place she couldn't find it in her mad flailings. I gasped, my hearts still trying to exert just enough energy that I could get to her.

Her struggles began to weaken, as I stumbled ever closer. She wasn't long for the world anymore. Her body began to twitch just as I got to her before falling still. I quickly grasped her waist, lifting her a little to take pressure off her throat. "Marie, please...wake up." I pleaded, looking around for anything I could use to remove the rope without letting her go. I could see a small cleaning knife on an abandoned fishing station, but it was so far out of my reach that I couldn't get to it. Worse, Marie still was not moving. "Damn it, no! Don't you dare fucking do this!" I shouted, trying to use my foot to reach it, but to no avail.

I had to do something. It was bad if she already died, but it'd be worse if an Inkling also managed to catch a glimpse of this, or even worse, an Octoling. Suddenly, it was as if a bright light came into my vision, and I realized what I had to do. Bracing Marie against me, I reached up with one hand and grasped my newly formed tentacle.

"You'd better not be dead." I muttered to her before with an agonizing cry of pain, I ripped it from my head. The thick cobalt liquid began to drip down my face as I threw it towards the knife. The tentacle obediently wrapped around the object, dragging it back to its master as quickly as it could. Tossing it upwards, I managed to catch the knife and I quickly slashed the rope, safely lowering the now limp Marie in my arms.

Laying her on the deck, I wasn't sure if she was still breathing. Resting my head on her chest, I closed my eyes and listened carefully. Her hearts were still beating, she was still alive! Her chest, however, remained still and I could hear her pulse weakening.

"God damn it." I muttered to myself, straddling her waist. Weaving my fingers together, I pressed them against her chest and pushed, trying to manually restart her lungs. When no air came from her, I realized that she must have exhaled it before she fell. Tilting her neck back, I placed my lips to hers, and taking a deep breath through my nose, blew the life saving air straight into her lungs. Pulling away, I began compressing her chest again, this time a returned breath emitting from between her lips. I almost cried out in joy. I'd breathe for her if I had to, but I wasn't going to let her die here.

I repeated the process again: another lungful, another exhale, over and over again. After a few minutes, I feared she would never wake up, until after one last exhalation, she opened her eyes with a raspy groan of shock.

"Marie!" I cheered, wrapping my arms tightly around her and pulling her close to me. "Thank God." She seemed stunned, still trying to catch her breath.

"Lusca?" She whimpered at last, her eyes beginning to tear up again. "You should have just let me die. That's what I wanted."

I pulled her away to look into her eyes. "How dare you?" I lectured her. "When I accepted my fate, you brought me back too. If you die, how will Callie ever be able to rely on you again? Did you just expect that everyone would be happy without you?"

"Wouldn't you?" She argued, before coughing more. "Why does my chest hurt so badly?"

"I had to operate your lungs for you until you woke up. You were almost a goner." I explained. "And no, I don't think anybody would be happy that you died, especially not like that."

"Too bad, it's not your choice." She replied, moving to stand up, but I squeezed her tighter, keeping her in my arms. "What are you-?"

"Shut up." I interrupted. "Don't say another word; just listen. I know you think you're doing the right thing...and I won't deny that I think you made mistakes in how this situation was handled. But you're not the only one at fault here." Surprisingly, she obliged, remaining still in my arms. I cradled her close to my chest, grateful she was alive. "I don't know what made you make this decision, Marie, but I won't let you make this mistake."

"No one asked you." She protested, but her tone soon became melancholic. She pressed back against me, nuzzling my cheek with hers. "It is my fault...it can't be everyone's fault."

"I don't think it's anyone's fault that anything happened." I whispered into her ear. "If you died, do you know what would have happened? Callie would have blamed herself. So would your grandfather. I, especially, would blame myself for it. That guilt would eat them from the inside out, until eventually...maybe they'd do the same thing. Your family would shatter, falling apart at the seams because even if you make mistakes, it doesn't change the fact that they love you."

"You?"

I blushed slightly. "I would have missed you terribly. Even if I can't claim that I love you, I can say that my life would be worse off if you weren't here." As my words trailed off, a silence enveloped the two of us. The only thing that could be heard was the audible lapping of the waves at the pier. "I know you're upset about what happened at the concert."

Marie tore her gaze from mine. "I just...I don't understand you. One moment, it seems like you're plotting to kill us in our sleep. The next, I'm waking up in your arms while you try to tell me that everything will be okay. How can it ever be okay if I can't trust you? I want to, I really do, it's just-" she paused, taking a breath, "I need an explanation, Lusca. Please. Just, make me understand."

"A long time ago, my family owned an electronics shop. Stereos, TV's, you name it. From the time I was a child, I was taught the way things work. Every wire and transistor had it's purpose and it's place, and for me, my place was there in the shop. I made repairs. I fixed things that were important to people."

Marie visibly sank. I knew she was struggling to see what my point was. "What is your point, Lusca?" She whispered, trying to remain patient.

Ignoring her question, I continued. "One day, the military came to our door and I was promptly drafted. My parents were too old, my siblings were too young, and so I was dragged off to training to become an Octoling Warrior, fighting the good fight against the heathen Inkling incursion. Amy taught me the finer points of combat. I had it drilled, over and over again. Soldiers don't have friends. Soldiers don't have families. Soldiers don't have weakness, no matter what. For Octolings, mercy is weakness, and so when I was sent to battle, I waited for the day that I would get my first kill. For the first few weeks, I was...excited. I couldn't wait to serve my military for the glory of Octavio. But nothing happened. There was no battles to be fought, no wars to be concerned with. It was a game of espionage and we were just infantry trying our best to not be caught up in the storm. That's when I realized, I didn't want to kill anyone. I didn't want to be in this stupid military. I never asked to be part of this war, so why the hell was I supposed to fight with conviction for a cause that, for all I knew, didn't exist?"

"I understand how you feel, sort of. It's what Callie and I were discussing before…" she stopped, her guilt-ridden face contorting to a grimace of pain. "Oh God, Callie...what if she's…"

I stopped her before she could go any further. "Don't think about that right now. Just listen to my story. You wanted an explanation, and I want to give you one. For Octolings, even questioning an order is considered treason. I kept my thoughts to myself. I tried so very hard to convince myself that it was necessary. It was kill or be killed, I reasoned. If I met an Inkling, I couldn't hesitate to kill them, because they wouldn't hesitate to kill me. That's when you and Callie came through for the zapfish. I couldn't let you take it when so many people, the ones I'd convinced myself were worth fighting for, needed it for their livelihoods. I would have sent you to my town. There, the entire city would turn on you and have easily killed you. Imagine my surprise, when I realized that you'd fired an ink strike at where my home used to be."

"Lusca, you know it wasn't personal, don't you? If we'd known it was a city, we wouldn't have fired it."

"I know." I replied. "But that's when I realized I could escape what my life had become, with the two of you. Because Callie showed me that there was such a thing as an Inkling of sympathy, I knew somewhere that I wanted to leave my life. The only way I could do that, was to bargain with you to take me."

"So you let us capture you on purpose?" Marie asked. "That doesn't make any sense." As she spoke, I could feel her hands rest on mine. She wove her fingers between my knuckles, holding them to ensure I wouldn't release her. "And if you were so happy to be gone from your old life, why did you keep trying to leave?"

"I thought the same thing you did, I suppose. Everyone would be happier without me. I was an awful soldier, and I was an even worse Inkling. For a while, you and Callie were simply my ticket out of the Kettles and into my new life. But, when the two of you were captured and placed in prison, your Grandfather asked me to go after you. I realized that, in a way, you were my new life. If you or she died, I'd die too. It's a stupid way to think about it, I know. But it helped me to think that the skills I'd learned weren't useless."

"But you tried to kill us!" She protested. "At the concert, you were going to put in the toxin and have it kill not only us, but the entire crowd, too."

"That happened because of what I did to that man in the prison. Lieutenant Daniels." I reached into my pocket, drawing out his badge and staring at it. "For me, he was the enemy. A villain in need of slaying. But thinking about it and doing it are two very different things, and when his blood poured out on to the ground, I realized what I'd done and it hurt to see what I'd become. I wasn't a person anymore. I was a monster. That's what my name means, you know? Monster. When I was born, my mother told me that I always had my mouth open and showing off my fangs, like I was trying to be scary."

She rested her silver tentacles on my shoulder with a weak giggle. "It's hard to imagine you as a baby. I bet you were really cute back then." My hand went to stroke her tentacles, causing her to gaze up at me. I could still see the red ligature marks around her throat. My fingers absently trailed down her cheek, gently running over it's sore surface. I couldn't help but feel that I was the one who caused it.

"Being locked in that room gave me lots of time to think." I explained. "I wanted to go back to my life. I knew I didn't belong here and I couldn't be an Inkling, no matter how badly I wanted to. I was going to just leave after the two of you left for the concert. But the Splatoon had different plans. It was a test of my loyalty. I stood there, the toxin in hand, and I was looking over the edge of the cliff. I could drop it in, killing the new life that I'd dreamed of. I'd go back home, back where monsters are meant to go."

Marie's eyes fell from mine again, causing her to withdraw further into her own self. I was doing little to comfort her guilt over what had happened. "And I kept wanting to kill you…" she mumbled.

"I almost did kill you." I stated. "You were right to lock me up again, even if I didn't come quietly."

"What stopped you?" She wondered, before frowning. "Was it because of Callie?"

I shook my head. "I heard you both singing. I'd never heard that song before, but it made me realize that if I killed you, I could never try to have the life I wanted again. Even if I died fighting against the current, at least I could try. I'd rather spend my whole life struggling to find a new place here with you and Callie, than ever go back to the way things were before. So, I did. I turned on the Splatoon and managed to kill all but one of them. She managed to get away before I could stop her, and then you knocked me out."

"Then, the moment you woke up, I threatened to kill you again. You'd tried to prove that you could be trusted, and I just threw it all back in your face." She murmured. "I'm sorry, Lusca. Truly, I am. This is why I said you should have just let me die. I just keep screwing things up for everyone."

I smiled softly. "Even if that was true, it doesn't change what I said about you. Death isn't the way out of the life you're trying to escape. The only thing you can do is to change yourself first."

She was silent for a moment. "That doesn't change that I wanted to kill you."

"I don't think you really did. I think that if Callie had pulled that trigger, you'd have been just as upset as you were when she didn't."

"See?" She murmured. "You don't know me at all."

"I heard what you said from the other room...about loving me."

"Great…" She groaned sarcastically, but I quieted her with a gentle squeeze.

"I'm not trying to make fun of you. I know having me around has been more stressful than it's worth, and I'd leave if I thought it would help. But every time I tried, you'd stop me. I think it's because you care about me too."

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and curling up against my chest. "Maybe." She muttered. "Or maybe I just care enough about Callie. She likes you, you know?" Marie chuckled to herself. "I told you, everyone likes the cute one. You can admit you like her, I won't tell."

"I can't." I replied with a heavy sigh. "Probably because I don't."

She turned towards me, her eyes shimmering. "Are you really saying you like me?" Her words sounds hopeful, and I knew my answer would hurt.

"No. I don't think I like you either."

"Oh." She whispered. "Well, you have to like one of us!"

"Why?" I asked. "Just because you both like me?"

"It'd be an awful soap opera if you didn't."

I blinked, confused. "Soap opera? Oh! Right, I remember those. Man, I never really was a fan. It's been so long though."

"You've only been here for a little over a week!" She protested. "You act like you haven't seen one in years."

"I haven't." I replied. "Our television systems cutout years ago. Heck that was back when I…" I stopped, my eyes lowering to the pier.

"When you what?" She asked.

I just shook my head. "It was many lifetimes ago. I'd really rather not talk about it."

"I suppose that's fair." Marie agreed. "Thank you for explaining...and saving me...again. If it's any consolation, I'm glad you decided to stay. Not just because you didn't kill me either."

"So…" I replied.

"So…" she repeated. "I guess...I guess we should go back to the house. Gramps is probably worried."

"Not just yet. I want you to promise me, you won't try to take your life again. When you start feeling like they'd be better off without you, you have to talk to me before doing anything." She remained silent for a long while, thinking about everything we'd talked about. Without a word, one of her hands separated from mine and reached to grasp the noose. She lifted it, inspecting it for a moment before throwing it off the pier where we sat. Together, we watched the rope slowly sinking into the water until it disappeared from view into the depths. "Are you alright?" I finally asked.

"I think so. It all seems so scary still. I don't...I don't want to die, Lusca. I never really did, but I felt like if I could somehow make up for all the bad things I've done, maybe it'd be better for everyone."

"We've all done bad things, Marie." I reminded her. "But I'll make you a deal. Starting this very moment, we forget everything we've done to each other. We're both forgiven and we just pretend like it didn't happen."

"I'll agree, so long as you grant me two favors."

"Like…?"

Her soft lips curled into a smile. "Stay here with me, just for a little until the sun sets." I nodded to show I agreed.

"And the second one?"

"Please, don't tell anyone about this. I appreciate you keeping our secret. I hate having to ask you to keep another one, but I feel like I can trust you. I just don't want to worry them. So, please…"

"I promise." I interrupted. "I won't tell a soul."

She smiled weakly up at me before once more stretching to kiss my cheek. "You're a great friend Lusca, I'm sorry it took so long for me to see it."

"It's hard to see a tree when you're just looking at a forest." I reminded her.

Her smile brightened and she hugged me tighter. "Yeah well, I've got the best forest in the world. Welcome to it...tree."

The two of us sat on the pier for a long time, watching as the large ball of light dipped beneath the horizon. It felt wonderful to take a moment to shield ourselves from the outside world. On this pier, it felt like nothing else existed. Our own little pocket we could go to away from our problems.

We stayed much longer than expected, the moon even coming up to bathe us both in its silvery glow. It wasn't until I heard Marie give a soft snore that I knew it was time for us to finally leave.

I scooped her up, careful to not wake her, and carried her back to the shack where the lights were still burning. The marks on her neck were no longer visible, but the weight of our conversation still hung around my neck like an albatross. "You can't escape." A voice warbled in the back of my mind. "You were born a monster, and a monster you'll stay."

I ignored it though. So long as Marie and Callie believed that I could be a good person, that was all I needed to assure myself. "Marie." I whispered to her, causing her to stir and rub her eyes.

"Lusca?" She grumbled sleepily. "Where are we?"

"I carried you back. You fell asleep and I didn't wish to wake you."

She grinned lightly and leaned up to kiss my cheek. "See? Now that's much better. That could make for a good soap opera." Letting her stand on her feet, I knocked on the door.

Swinging open, Cap'n Cuttlefish had a wave of relief wash over him. "Oh, thank heavens!" He muttered, throwing his arms around his granddaughter. "You had me worried sick, Squiddo."

"Sorry Gramps." She mumbled back, returning his hug. "It won't happen again. Lusca straightened things out. How's Callie?"

He looked over his shoulder at the bedroom. "She still hasn't woken up yet, but her treatments are healing nicely. Hopefully things will improve tomorrow. For now, you should get some rest. You look exhausted."

"Trying to say I look bad Gramps?" She replied. "Alright, I'll go home and get some sleep." Turning back to me, she held out both of her arms. "Come on. You get to carry me again, I've decided. That way I can sleep on my way there."

"Alright." I surrendered, scooping her back up again. "I'll be back in a bit Captain." I promised him, but she waved her hand.

"No, he won't. He has to stay over at my place. It's far too late."

"Erm...well, I suppose that's okay." Cuttlefish commented, puzzled. "I'm glad to see the two of you getting along so much better now."

"Good night." The both of us called as we left. Sure enough, just as she'd promised, she fell fast asleep on our walk back to her complex. After wrestling the key from a half-asleep Marie, I opened the door and went inside. Laying her in her bed, I tucked her in, but as I did she leaned up and placed a quick peck on my lips.

"Good night, Lusca. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sweet dreams, Marie. I'm just going to be on the couch, okay?"

She didn't reply, her sleepiness already retaking its hold on her. Tiptoeing into the living room, I managed to find a blanket and some pillows, and soon I was ready to join her in slumber land. As I closed my eyes, I prayed that this time, I would not arrive in the same horrid place as before.

* * *

 _Once again, I found myself sinking into the ocean. Deep beneath the waves, lower and lower, until at last I came to the bottom. I was in the city again, though this time it looked...different. While the buildings and structures still were some twisted combination of hyperbolic and elliptic, they were now gleaming beautifully in the caustic of the water. The place was full of strange creatures, similar to myself, but without tentacles. Instead, they seemed to have a mass of thin bristles of various colors and lengths. They walked with a certain rigidity that was unfound amongst our own kind, and I found myself wondering just what they were and how they came to be here at the bottom of the ocean._

 _I walked the streets of the city, large Cyclopean turrets rising high above the buildings like lone vigils, standing tall over the people. Their streets were paved with intricate designs that I hadn't even noticed the last time I was present in the city, and yet despite this, I found myself simply walking over them towards the one thing that seemed more out of place than any other._

 _A strange culmination of ships and vessels, all stacked against one another until they'd formed a horrifying shape of some kind of palace. Masts and bowsprits jutted from the twisted cocoon as if it were comprised of thousands of giant thorns. As I came closer, I saw more of the creatures I'd seen earlier, though these were dressed in robes and hoods. I could hear them muttering in unison, almost a chant, the sound of which stabbed through my mind as it had before. "_ _Ph'nglui mglw'nafh 'fhalma R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn."_ _Over and over again, they repeated their chant, though this time I was unsure what it meant._

 _Then came a loud rumbling from within the abominable palace that stood before them. The very ground beneath my feet shook, causing the other beings to panic as they began to flee and scream. The creatures in hoods turned to face the crowd as the trembling grew greater and greater, and pulling back their cloaks, they simultaneously revealed a most sinister visage. I gasped in horror and realization. These were not the same creatures that now trampled one another in panic. I somehow knew their names, but for some reason I could not bring myself to recollect it. What were they? I screamed the question in my mind, and yet the answer still would not come as they slowly began to descend upon the city. I knew now what this place was, it's name echoed in my mantle, over and over again. "R'lyeh!"_

* * *

I awoke with a start, my chest heaving heavily as sweat poured from my brow. I was so horrified, my body was trembling in fear. I drew my knees to my chest, clutching them tightly as I tried to convince myself that it was only a dream, but in my soul I could feel the very real weight of what I'd seen.

It took me a few moments to realize that in the air was the scent of food, and looking over my shoulder I could see Marie with her back turned to me. She hadn't noticed my odd manner of waking up; something I was grateful for. "G-good morning." I greeted shakily, causing her to look over her shoulder with a grin.

"Morning Sleeping Beauty." She cheerfully replied. "I hope you slept well."

"Like a baby." I lied. "What are you making in there?"

"Breakfast." She blithely answered. "Why do you ask? I hope you don't just expect me to make food for you. I'm not that domestic." When she turned back around, I saw her with two plates containing food.

"So are both of those for you then?" I teased, causing her eyes to narrow at me.

"I'll have you know that you are by far the rudest man to have ever stayed the night in my apartment." She huffed, sitting beside me and placing one plate in front of me. "You come over, sleep on my couch, don't even put out, then you expect breakfast first thing in the morning. You're incorrigible."

"I'm the only man to have stayed the night in your apartment." I commented, taking a bite of the food. It was absolutely fantastic.

"W-what?! That's not true! I've had plenty of men stay here. I mean...not like at the same time or anything. I'm not easy, I mean. I just…"

"Callie told me that you've never had a boyfriend." I interrupted. As cute as it was to watch her try to stumble through her minefield of explanations, I didn't want to humiliate her further. Just as I was about to take another bite, she moved the plate from my reach, holding it away from me.

She huffed. "If you can't appreciate my sentiment, then you can't have any food."

"Whatever." I replied with a smug grin, my fork instead taking food from her plate.

"Now you're stealing my food?!" She accused in disbelief. "You're not allowed to steal food from me, you're a guest!"

"Yeah, well...people normally feed guest!" I argued, as she moved her own plate away as well. Now that she had no means to defend herself with both hands full, I reached past her to get to my plate, but she just continued to lean away to keep me out of reach.

Both of us stretched, trying to battle over the food, until her grip became wobbly. "W-wait Lusca, stop playing around, I'm about to…" With a loud crash, the plates fell from her grip to ground, shattering and spilling the foot everywhere. "Drop them." She finished with a sigh.

That was when we noticed how we were positioned. My body was draped over hers, our faces only a few inches apart. Her golden eyes stared deeply into mine, sharing my own gleam of embarrassment.

"So...isn't this the part where you're supposed to kiss me?" She wondered, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "You know I've kissed you more than enough to warrant it."

"Marie…" I began, the conflict in my eyes betraying my thoughts on the subject. "You know why I can't do that."

"Not really." She replied. "I don't think you've ever explained before why I'm not allowed to get a kiss."

"I…" My voice struggled to come up with an answer for her.

"I see." Marie muttered. "So, I guess you really don't have feelings for me."

I shook my head. "I'm sorry Marie…"

"Not as sorry as I am." She sighed. "God, I'm such an idiot. I can't believe I'd do something so stupid. I even made you breakfast. Sheesh."

"So, wait...this was all to try to get a kiss from me?"

"Well, yeah. Do I seem like the kind of girl who makes people breakfast?"

I closed my eyes rubbing my temples in irritation. "Marie, life is not like a Soap Opera. You can't just set up scenes and expect them to play out in your favor."

"I know." She admitted.

"I mean, doesn't this hurt? Getting rejected over and over again?"

"Like Hell."

"Then why do you keep doing this to yourself?"

"Because I have to be able to win at least one!" She snapped, before falling silent. "Callie gets all the boys. The demographic that likes me tend to be the much older audience or the younger girls. I told you before: everyone likes the cute one." She tore her gaze from mine. "I know I'm not cute, alright? But just for once, it'd be nice to be able to pretend that someone, _anyone_ could have an interest in me."

My hand slid from where it rested to slide beneath her cheek that was against the arm of the couch, turning her back to face me. Before she could say anything, I leaned forward and pressed my lips gently against hers. After the briefest of moments, I pulled away, sitting up on the couch and clearing my throat. "On the contrary," I muttered, "I find you very attractive."

She was stunned, her chest rising and falling. "That was…"

"Marie, I understand your feelings, sort of. But I'm not going to fall in love with you. I'm sorry."

"Amazing." She breathed at last, sitting up slowly.

"Did you hear what I just said?"

"Yeah, yeah. Won't fall in love. Whatever." She muttered. "But man, that was...is that why Callie dates so much? I don't blame her, that felt so...exciting. Is that what it always feels like to be kissed? I've never been kissed by anyone before."

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "You've kissed me like three times."

"Yeah, I know that. But it's not the same as you kissing me."

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard you say." I muttered, though inside I couldn't help but to smile at how excited just one little kiss made her, even if it was meaningless. Not that she seemed to mind.

"I mean, who knew that that could feel so amazing?"

"Okay Marie, you're starting to worry me." I whispered. "It was just a kiss."

" _Just_ a kiss?!" She argued. "No, no. That was my _first_ kiss! That's a memory that I'm going to have forever. It's one of the most important events in a person's life! Oh man, I can't wait to tell Callie!"

"No!" I stated, a bit more forcefully than I intended. "Callie is never to hear of this, understand?"

Marie looked at me in surprise, before the joy that was once in her smile slowly began to fade away. "Oh. I see. Yeah, no problem. I'll keep it to myself."

"Marie, I'm sorry…"

"No, you're right. I mean, it didn't mean anything anyway. I shouldn't have gotten so excited. It's...not a big deal. I've asked you to keep secrets from me, there's nothing wrong with me keeping a secret for you." She cleared her throat before standing up. "I'm going to clean up the food now. Don't even think about lifting a finger to help either, even if it was your fault."

"Marie…"

"I'm fine, Lusca. Like I said: no big deal." As she began to pick up the broken plates, the phone began to ring. "Can you grab that?"

"Sure." I sighed, picking up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Hey there, Bucko! Important news!"

"Captain?" I asked, before signaling to Marie and pressing the speaker button. "What's the important news?"

"Hello, Lusca." Callie's cheerful voice came through the phone. "How are you and Marie?"

"Callie, I'm so glad you're awa-"

"Lusca kissed me!" Marie blurted, causing me to look back at her. An impish smile rested on her lips.

To be continued...


	11. Chapter 11

An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 11

 **Author's Note: Hey everyone, sorry this took so long. I kind of went a little overboard, so it may seem like the chapter ends abruptly, but that's only because I wrote about 2000 words more than what I was aiming for for the chapter. Normally, I'd just extend the chapter to be longer, but I really didn't want to break up the flow for the next chapter. I promise, it'll be a good one. As I shared in one of my other stories, I'm presently working on the play for the school that I teach at. If you're in the Houston, Texas area or if you want to travel there at some point in the near future, let me know. Tickets will go on sale in a few months. We're non-profit, so most of our money comes from fundraisers like our play/silent auction. Not to mention you'll be able to meet me there and even possibly pick up a signed copy of my novel :D Hooray! That being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'll update again soon. -Kiba (P.S. Thank you guys so much for getting my story to the top of the Splatoon section. I'm presently the 14th highest favorited Splatoon story, so I'm extremely grateful for that. If you do enjoy the story, but haven't favorited it yet, it would mean a lot to me! As always, I love receiving any sort of reviews or criticism you may have, so don't be shy about leaving me feed back. Thanks again!)**

"Wh-what?" Callie stammered confused as I just stared in shock at her cousin. How could she do that to me? She'd promised. Normally, I'd be furious, but right now I was just so surprised by her audacity that I was stunned silent.

"He kissed me." Marie repeated, sitting down beside me. "It was so awesome, Callie! I can't wait to tell you all about it!"

"Oh...well okay. That's good...I guess." She stammered across the phone. I could hear the hurt in her voice, and I knew that the very thing I'd hoped to not have happened, had. Did Marie not get it?

"Give us just a moment, Callie. We'll call you back." I stated before hanging up the phone. I turned back to Marie with a glare. "What is the matter with you?! You swore you wouldn't tell her!"

She held up her fingers with a grin. "Had 'em crossed the whole time." She taunted. I clenched my fist tightly before standing up and walking to the door. "Where are you going?"

"To explain everything to Callie." I answered.

"Right now?" She asked. "But what if people see you?"

"Don't you get it?" I snarled, causing her to recoil from me as I stormed closer to her. "Your cousin almost _died_. Right now she's got a hole in her chest, and despite that she's awake, I can promise you she's far from back to health. She could still die at any moment and the reason I told you to keep it to yourself is because she needs to stay positive if she wants to pull through!" My voice began to raise even louder; my three hearts began to race madly. "You are so incredibly selfish! You're mad because I don't like you so you decided to take it out on me by hurting Callie? You said you cared about her more than anything, that you'd do whatever it took to protect her! So is this how you plan on doing it? Twisting the knife that you know is already on her mind?" I took a deep breath, turning away from her to run my hand through the small tentacles that were budding on my head. "Do you know why I won't say how I feel about you or Callie?" I asked finally. A pain was throbbing in my chest from the strain on my hearts as I began coughing once again, falling to my knees.

"Lusca!" Marie cried, running to me, but I shoved her away.

"Don't touch me." I growled. "Don't you dare act like my friend after the crap that you just pulled." There was another hacking fit just as a small splatter of cobalt blood flew on to the carpet. Most likely, I reasoned, one of the scabs in my lungs had come open from the pressure.

At this point, I was too weak to shove Marie away as she helped me back to my feet before setting me on the couch. She left quickly before returning with a small glass of water. "Drink this." She instructed me, placing it to my lips and tilting it before I could object.

I was still enraged, but I obeyed anyway. The cool liquid soothed my throat as I coughed again, this time with a lot less splatter. She sighed softly, brushing my tentacles from my eyes before wrapping her arms around me in a hug.

"What did I just say?" I muttered, weakly trying to pull away from her. She was capitalizing on my inability to force her away, which only served to anger me more.

"I'm sorry." She finally whispered. "Okay? I'm sorry. I didn't even think about how badly it would hurt Callie's feelings. I was just so happy, you know? How could I not want to tell her?"

I didn't buy it. "You also broke your promise."

"You broke yours too." She protested. "You told Callie about what I told you. Not to mention you keep using it as an excuse to make me feel stupid for the things I do."

"I wouldn't have to if you'd think before acting."

The two of us fell silent, unable to look each other in the eyes. After a few minutes, she spoke up again. "So why do you hide how you feel from us?" She pressed. "You asked if I knew, but you've never said why. To be honest, it's something I've been thinking about a lot. I can understand not liking me, but Callie...she's a really nice girl, you know? It's harder to think of a reason why you _wouldn't_ like her."

Damn it. I had let my guard down because of how angry I was, and now that things had calmed down it was coming back to bite me. "It doesn't matter." I tried, hoping she'd drop it.

"It matters to me."

"It's not about you."

"Well, then what is it about? Are you worried that I won't give you my blessing?"

"I just said, it's not about you."

"Then tell me."

"No."

"Please?"

"No!"

"Lusca…"

"I said, 'No'!" I snapped, immediately placing my hand on my chest in pain. I could see the sadness in Marie's eyes as well. It was obvious that every time that pain rushed through me she blamed herself. "I'm sorry, it's just...you're Inklings. I'm an Octoling. It'd never really work out. Even if I did, not saying that I do, but if I did have feelings for one of you, it wouldn't matter because I'd still have to hide from the world."

Marie frowned, reaching up to stroke my cheek affectionately. "You know I wouldn't care, right? If it meant you loving me, I'd probably give up my career as part of the Squid Sisters. Most of them come to see Callie anyway."

"How can you even say that?" I accused her. "I know that Squid Sisters means a lot to you and Callie. You were so afraid that I was going to split the two of you up, and now you're talking about wanting to split away with her even though I'm telling you not to." I shook my head, leaning back against the couch and closing my eyes.

"Well...if you were an Inkling, who would you choose?"

I opened one eye to give her a sideways glance. "I'm not even going to dignify that question with a response." I muttered. "If it was you, you'd just blab it to Callie. If it was Callie, you'd become all mopey and depressed."

She turned away from me, kicking her legs up on the armrest and draping herself over my lap. I briefly considered shoving her off of the couch and on to the floor, but quickly decided against it. When I looked down at her, I saw a confident grin on her face. "I get it." She giggled, causing me to frown. Clearly, she didn't.

"I'm sorry?"

"You like having two women chasing after you!" She announced, her smile growing even wider. Immediately, my cheeks turned a bright red. "I knew it! That's what it is, isn't it? You don't want to make a choice because you know that if you do whoever you don't choose will stop chasing you."

"Of course not. Do you really think I'm that sort of a person?" I protested, but she just put both of her hands behind her head smugly.

"You're a man. You're all that sort of person." She teased, stretching her back before once more falling onto my lap.

It was hard to find the words to tell her the truth. The nightmares had become progressively worse. Everytime I closed my eyes, I could see the streets of R'lyeh burning through hellfire, and because of that I couldn't even begin to focus on romance. Pile that on top of the original conflict of identities that I was struggling to grasp, and the reason I remained silent became an obvious one. "Haha, I guess you caught me." I laughed nervously.

The grin on her face returned. "Yeah, that's what I expected. You're too easy to read Lusca. I thought soldiers were supposed to have a good poker face." I held my tongue so as not to argue that it was good enough to trick her.

"Either way, what do you propose we do about Callie?" I huffed.

"Honestly? Nothing."

I took a deep breath, rubbing my temples. "Marie, do we seriously need to have this discussion again on why this is so important?"

"No." She grumbled, taking my hand and pulling it to her tentacles so I'd massage them. "I'm just saying. If it really does hurt her as badly as you say it does, don't you think bringing it up will only hurt her more? It's not like you'll choose either of us, like you said, so I'm sure you've no objections to just staying the course, right?"

"That does make sense, I suppose." I muttered, obliging her by running my fingers through the silvery tendrils on her head. "But I don't like the idea of the damage already being done and not doing anything to try to reverse it."

Marie's eyes met mine with an impish gleam. "Well, then I guess there's only one option. If you can't bring it up and you can't ignore it either, then there must be only one solution left." She reached to my hand to hold it, nuzzling against it with a content sigh.

"I'm all ears."

"Do I have to spell it out for you?" She asked. "It's obvious. You just need to kiss Callie too. Then she'll realize that our kiss wasn't you making a decision about which of us you like."

"Perhaps, but it seems like you're making me out to be some sort of womanizer."

"Aren't you?"

I just stifled a scoff. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Her other hand reached up to my cheek, stroking it affectionately. As much as I wanted to pull away, I didn't. "What is it now? You have that look on your face like you're up to something."

"Just thinking." Marie replied. "There's something in your eyes that wasn't there before. You seem really shaken up, almost like you're scared. Did something else happen, Lusca?"

Could she truly see my fear? Perhaps she was right about my poker face after all. "Marie, can I ask you a question about...yesterday?"

Her eyes dimmed slightly before she nodded. "I suppose I owe you that much." She whispered. "What do you want to know?"

"When you were out, did you _see_ anything?"

"What, like a light at the end of the tunnel sort of thing?"

"Sort of." I couldn't even begin to find the words to describe what I'd seen.

Suddenly, Marie began to shiver as she wrapped her arms around herself. It was as if an invisible chill had coursed through her body, but she just shook her head. "To be honest, I don't remember much." Her voice was shaky, and it seemed like she was almost more frightened than me by the prospect of it. "I remember standing there on the stool. I'd heard that hanging was usually a swift death. I even had a backup plan, in case it wasn't. I was going to keep the stool close by, so if it didn't kill me instantly, I could catch myself."

My free hand rested on her arms, causing her to flinch before realizing what the sensation was. "What happened?"

"You surprised me. When I heard you call my name, I turned to look and lost my balance. It made the stool fall out of my reach. I tried to find a way to catch myself, but then everything started to go dark. The last thing I thought before blacking out was 'I was wrong about this'. Everything was dark and empty. I couldn't feel anything, just coldness." Her eyes began to well up with tears as she explained. "I remember wondering if that was it. Is that what awaits us after death? Nothing? Then the thought occurred to me that maybe it was just that way for me. I was nothing in life, so it'd only make sense that I was nothing in death too."

"That's not true." I protested quickly, my hand gripping her arm tightly. She looked up at me in surprise. "You're not nothing. Don't ever think that, understand? To some people, you're the world. Don't you know why I killed that policeman, why I do all of the things I've done?"

"Because he tried to kill you…"

"No. I killed him because he threatened to hurt you and Callie. When you told me on the radio that he would shoot you if I didn't stand down, something inside of me snapped. I knew when I entered that hallway that neither of us were leaving until the other one was dead. I just didn't realize how large of a toll it would take on me." Marie stayed silent, unsure of how to reply. "But if I were given the choice, Marie. I'd do it all over again. So please, don't do that to me. Don't tell me that I killed him over nothing."

"Anyway," she murmured, changing the subject, "the next thing I remember was hearing your voice. You kept begging me to turn around and come back. Then I felt your lips on mine and that's when I woke up. I know I didn't really say it then, but thank you...for saving me...again."

"I'll always be there to save you." I whispered to her. She sat up, scooting to sit closer beside me. As she cuddled next to me, I wondered if I truly was making the right decision about everything.

"Why did you ask me that, Lusca? Did you see something when you almost died?"

"No." I lied. "It just felt like I'd fallen asleep until you woke me up again. Except that when I woke up it felt like my insides were on fire and I could hardly breathe."

She pulled herself into my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck and burying her face in it. "I'm so sorry." She finally whimpered. "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have hurt yourself that way. I should have just told Callie the truth, that I didn't actually want you dead."

I pulled her away to look her in the eyes. "How could you think that it was your fault?"

"Gramps blames me for Callie being hurt."

I frowned, drawing her back into my embrace to hold her in my arms. "I'm sure he was just upset." I tried. "I doubt he truly blames you."

"He even told me so himself." She retorted. "He said that if it wasn't for me, Callie wouldn't have been out there to be shot at all. You should have seen the way he looked at me, Lusca. It was like he wished that it had been me instead. I guess you can relate."

My hand went to her chin, holding it in place so she couldn't look away from me. "That's enough." I growled. "I know it's hard, but you have to understand that no one sees you the way you see yourself. You're not useless. You're not nothing. You're not allowed to ever say anything like that again. What happened to Callie is awful, but no one blames you for it except for yourself."

"Lusca…?"

"I'm serious. No more, Marie." I could see the hesitance in her eyes to agree. She seemed like she would simply forget everything I'd told her, chalking it up to just trying to make her feel better. Without another word, I tilted her chin upward and pressed my lips against her again, causing her to gasp in surprise.

She was so caught off guard, it took her a few moments before she closed her eyes and wrapped her arm around my neck so she could deepen the kiss. She pressed her weight against me, pushing me over on the couch so that we were laying beside one another before our lips finally parted. "That was even better than the first one." She panted, a small strand of saliva still connecting us before I brushed it away.

"There." I whispered to her. "Now you have to remember what I said. Your second kiss is just as important as your first, so you can't forget why, understand?"

She smiled sheepishly as she nuzzled against me. "Is that the only reason you kissed me?" She wondered. "If so, maybe I should be self-deprecating more often."

"It's the last one." I smirked, quoting her from our trip to the hospital. "Seriously though, you have to stop thinking like that. I told you I'd always be there to rescue you, but it's so much harder for me to rescue you from yourself."

She took a deep breath before clambering off of me. "I'll try." She muttered. "That's all I can promise you."

"I suppose it'll have to do for now." Sitting back up I reached for the phone. "I'm going to call Callie."

"What happened to staying the course?" She asked.

"I have to do something." I replied with a shrug. "Just give me a moment." Punching in the buttons to return the call, it rang momentarily before I heard the phone pick up.

"Ahoy?"

"Captain, it's Lusca. Is Callie still able to talk?"

There was a slight shuffling before his voice returned to the line. "Sorry, squiddo. It doesn't seem like she's up to speaking right now." I shuddered. The way he'd said it made it sound like she'd just flat out refused to take the phone. "How's Marie treating you? She behaving herself?"

"As much as usual." I joked, looking towards the girl who sat with her arms crossed against the couch. "Listen, could you give Callie a message for me?"

"Sure thing, what is it?" For a moment, I thought I could hear Callie in the background whispering for him to not take the message. Knowing that the Captain often had hearing troubles though, I doubted he could tell.

"Just tell her, 'Nothing has changed, I'll visit you tonight'. Tell her that exactly Captain, got it?"

He paused for a moment and I could hear him relaying the message before he let out a slight cry of surprise before her voice came to the phone. "M-Mr. Octoling? What do you mean by that?" Callie demanded. She sounded like she had a lot more energy now.

"As I said, nothing has changed." I repeated, a soft smile coming to my face. "I'm glad to hear you're feeling better Callie."

"S-so...y-you and Marie…" She stammered.

"Nothing has changed." I repeated once more, causing her to sink back on to her bed. "Like I said, we'll visit you tonight. If you want, you and I can talk about everything. What happened, what happens now, everything. Just know, nothing has changed."

"O-okay. I'll remember." She murmured, though it was hard for her to conceal the excitement in her voice. "I can't wait to see you again, Mr. Octoling. Th-thank you for finding Marie."

"Don't mention it. Goodbye Callie." I answered, hanging up the phone.

Marie blew one of her tentacles from her face. "You really are a smooth operator." She muttered, an obvious disappointment in her voice. "You must be absolutely beside yourself."

"I am, thanks." I shot back impatiently. "Callie seems much more cheerful now, especially since she wasn't willing to talk to me at first. So if you're asking if I'm happy that I managed to cheer her up, then yes, yes I am."

"Well...it'll be a while before we can head over there." Marie commented with a huff. She looked at me shiftily, a strange gleam in her eye. "If only there was a way we could pass the time."

I said nothing. To be honest, I was so tired. I felt like every time I had one of those dreams I didn't gain any energy from my slumber.

"I mean...we could…"

"Could what?" I asked, knowing that I was biting the hook.

"We could make out."

I let out a frustrated sigh before collapsing on the couch. She must not have gotten the message because I soon felt her weight come crashing down on me as she all but cannonballed onto my stomach causing me to let out a groan of pain. "Really?" I coughed before she put her hands on either side of my head with a grin.

"Chill. I'm not going to just force my tongue down your throat. You're just a comfy seat is all. " She lowered herself towards me, but true to her word she didn't kiss me. Instead she just cuddled beside me, pressing herself closer. "You're also really warm, and I didn't get much sleep last night, thanks to you."

"Don't give me that crap." I argued. "You slept the entire way here. I know because I'm the one who had to carry you. Not to mention that you fell fast asleep the instant I put you in your bed. In fact, if either of us didn't get any sleep it'd be…"

I stopped, turning my gaze away from her. "Oh? Why didn't you get any sleep?" She wondered, her tone taking a rise of suspicion. "Too busy thinking about another Inklings tentacles?"

"Don't be crass." I lectured. "I just had bad dreams is all."

Noticing how shaken up I seemed, she frowned. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"It was...it was awful. I saw a city. It was under water, and there were these strange creatures on it. They looked kind of like the fossils that people have been finding from before the Great Flood." I shuddered, the chill in my body intensifying from the previous time. "There was this awful building. It was made of boats that were just kind of...fused together. Then I heard something weird, some strange language that made all of the creatures start running and screaming. They all looked so terrified. The entire city began to burn and crumble around me."

"The city burned...under water." She joked.

"I know it's dumb!" I snapped, causing her to fall quiet again as I tried to regain my composure. "I know. Believe me, I get that the entire thing sounds absolutely ridiculous, but I can't help but feel that it's important. There's something really bad that's happening or has happened and for whatever reason, I'm being forced to live it every time I sleep."

"How about this?" She offered. "I've got a special kind of tea that helps people sleep. I'll watch you, so if you start to have a nightmare I can wake you up before it gets too scary. Then you'll just go back to sleep."

I wasn't entirely sure how well that would work, but I agreed anyway. "Alright, but for the record: volunteering to watch me sleep is creepy."

"Shut up, jerk." She teased, beginning to set the water to boil. "So what was the name of this awful place anyway?"

"R'lyeh." I replied. "The people there spoke this weird language. I could hear it and while I knew it wasn't the same language we speak, I could still understand it. It kind of bored into my head like a drill, pain and all. All I managed to catch was some weird chant: 'In her house at R'lyeh, the dead mother dreams.' I don't have any idea what it means, but that's what the bad guys said, or who I assume were the bad guys, just before the city went to heck. When I first heard it, in my dream, I didn't understand but now...it just kind of popped in."

I could see the expression of concern on her face. In truth, I was just as concerned. Part of me prayed that I was just crazy and that the dreams would stop soon. But somehow, I knew in the back of my mind that I was not. "Tea's done." She chimed, masking her feelings beneath a cheerful tone. As she returned to my side, she set the cup down in front of me. "Be careful, it's hot."

PIcking it up, I blew over the top to cool the tea before giving her a playful grin. "Promise you won't kill me in my sleep?"

She waved her hand dismissively at me. "Please. Don't you think that song and dance has gotten a little old now?" As I lifted the cup to my lips, I sipped it slowly to find that it was actually very good. I would have to bear in mind that Marie, despite her denial, actually was an excellent cook.

Minutes later, the cup was empty, and true to her word I was beginning to feel a little drowsy. As I went to lay down on the couch, I was surprised to find that she'd moved so that my head rested on her lap. She smiled down at me, and I up at her. "The tea worked wonders." I murmured, not even caring that she still hadn't stopped trying to romance me.

"Sleep well, Lusca." She whispered back, stroking my tentacles until I fell fast asleep.

Thankfully, her plan worked. I stayed fast asleep until the afternoon. When I opened my eyes, there was Marie, her head tilted back and her eyes closed as she snored peacefully. So she really was tired as well.

Sitting upwards, I carefully detangled myself from her. It was late enough in the afternoon that I could make it to Captain Cuttlefish's shack without being noticed. I couldn't bring myself to wake her, so instead I wrote a short note before draping a blanket over her. Cracking open the door, I slipped through the streets of Inkopolis, eager to see my friend again.

When I at last arrived at the shack, the Captain was excited to see me once more. "Welcome back, Squiddo. How...uh...how's Marie?"

"She's fine." I assured him. "Sorry about the whole fiasco this morning, it wasn't supposed to be like that."

He sighed softly, scratching the tentacles on his chin. Tugging my arm, he guided me to the room I used to stay in before whispering to me. "Listen bucko. I was a young man once, too. I understand that sometimes you may have...urges."

My cheeks began to turn a bright red. I really hoped this wasn't going where I thought it was. "Sir, whatever intentions you think I have…"

He held up his hand to interrupt me. "Just listen. Now, I get that you've found yourself in a sensitive predicament with my two granddaughters. Normally, I'd leave it alone so that they can make their own choices, but with what's happened over the last few days, I feel it may be best to step in." His eyes narrowed, the gentle expression now gone. "That being said, if you hurt either of them, there's no force in the sky or sea that will protect you from my wrath. Understand?"

"Sir," I began again, "I've no intentions of hurting either of them. I know my position within this Splatoon. War isn't a place for romance." His features softened again as he gave a soft sigh. "Listen, just between us, both of your granddaughters are wonderful. Truly, they are. I'd lay down my life if it meant protecting them. But, to be honest, it feels like I spend more time protecting them from each other and themselves than doing it from the Octarians."

Cap'n Cuddlefish chuckled lightly, gently resting his hand on my shoulder. "You don't know much about family, do you Squiddo? Family fights. It's inevitable. But believe me, the last thing you'll need to worry about is protecting them from each other. They've been together longer than most and bonded in ways you can't even imagine."

I pursed my lips tightly. I wanted to tell him about what happened with Marie at the docks, but on the other hand, I promised I wouldn't. Instead, I just nodded my head. "Yes sir. Is Callie awake?"

"Let me check." He replied. "Even if she's not, I'm sure she wouldn't mind waking up to see you. She's missed you something fierce."

"It's only been a day." I pointed out, though he just shrugged.

"For some, a day can feel like an eternity."

Entering the make-shift hospital room, I followed in behind the old military man. Laying on the bed, her head turned to the side, was Callie. Her eyes were shut, her chest rising and falling with a weakened wheeze. The bandage placed between her breast revealed that she didn't have much on in the way of clothes, and without a word, I pulled her cover further up her body to preserve her decency. "If it's all the same Captain, I'd like to have a few moments with her alone." I requested quietly.

He seemed to understand. With a polite smile at my action, he slipped back out of the room, closing the door behind him. I pulled a chair closer to Callie, unwrapping my face and setting it aside.

"Callie," I whispered into her ear. "I'm here."

Her eyes slowly opened, their soft golden hues meeting mine. "Mr. Octoling." She smiled sleepily, reaching to wrap her arms around my neck. I don't think she realized her state of undress, so I simply ensured her blanket was high enough before reciprocating her gesture. "I hope this isn't a dream." She muttered. "I've been having them all day."

"Don't worry, it's not." I promised, holding her for a long while. She finally began to wake up as we parted, the smile not leaving her face. "How are you feeling?"

"It still hurts a little." She answered. "What about you? Are you hurting? Gramps told me what happened."

"Only when I get excited."

She smiled again. "Good." Just as soon as the word left her mouth, her hand was brought down hard against my cheek. "That's for scaring me half to death." She explained. I rubbed my cheek tenderly, just as she leaned forward and placed a kiss on my other one. "And that's for protecting Marie and me."

I returned her smile with one of my own. "I think I prefered that one to the first." I teased, causing her to giggle. "I hope you don't mind that I woke you up. Your Grandpa said that you've been wanting to see me. I tried to cover you up."

Callie blinked for a moment before realizing that she was still topless and quickly pinning her blanket to her chest with an embarrassed squeak. "OH! Mr. Octoling, I'm so sorry! I didn't even...I mean, I didn't…" She stumbled over her word, and though I should have stopped her, she was just so adorable I had to let her try to finish. "I'm sorry." She finally apologized again, giving up on explaining herself.

"Don't worry about it." I calmed her. "I promise, I was nothing but a gentleman. And not just because your Gramps was in the room either."

She giggled again before looking around for her clothes. Seeing them folded up beside her, I offered her a hand standing up so she could take them and change if she wanted to. Taking it, she stood on wobbly legs, trying to maintain her balance. However, her injuries left her pretty uncoordinated, and soon she was falling forward. I quickly stuck out my arms without thinking, causing her bare body to press against mine.

To be continued...


	12. Chapter 12

An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 12

 **Author's Note: Alright, we're starting to get into the meat and potatoes of the story now. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I know I promised it a few days ago, but here it is in all its glory. For those of you who are unaware, I also write League of Legends fanfiction, so feel free to check that out as well. Please feel free to leave a review, I love reading those things, they're just so much fun. Best of luck in life and literature. -Kiba**

We found ourselves staring into eachother's eyes before with a nervous clearing of the throats, we turned our backs to one another, unable to hide our mutual chagrin. "S-sorry. I didn't want you to fall."

"It's alright. Thank you for catching me." She replied, though I could sense a slight excitement in her tone. I was glad her IV didn't get ripped from her arm. Behind me, I could hear the rustling of fabric before Callie whimpered slightly. "Erm...Mr. Octoling...could you help me for a second?"

Turning around, I had to cover my mouth to stifle a laugh. She'd managed to slip her dress half-way on before realizing that her IV was hindering her from putting her arm through her sleeve. The result was a strange image of the dark tentacled Inkling's forehead just barely sticking out of the dress' collar, one arm in the sleeve, the other pinned behind her back. "I'm sorry, I swear I'm not laughing." I chuckled, trying hard to keep a straight face.

"Please help me!" She whined, squirming uncomfortably.

"Alright, give me a second." I promised, carefully removing the tube from her needle so that she could navigate her arm again. Reaching through her sleeve, I felt my hand brush against her exposed flesh, causing us to both blush again. Finally, I managed to find her hand and pull it through, assisting her into it. "Here." I whispered, grateful that our embarrassment for the time being was at an end. I carefully stood behind her, zipping up the dress before helping her back into the bed. "Better?"

"Y-yeah." She stuttered, taking the tube and reattaching it to the kit. "Sorry, I know that must have been gross."

"Gross?" I asked confused. "How was that gross?"

"Well...I mean...you kind of touched me...on my chest."

So much for the end of our shared shame. "It was an accident." I assured her. "But either way, gross isn't the word I'd use to describe it." She grinned sheepishly as our hands sought out one another. "I know you probably want to talk about this morning, right?"

"Y-yes please."

I sighed softly, her fingers slipping between mine as I thought about how to explain. "Your cousin is a strange one, to be sure. She seems to think that we're in some sort of soap opera. She made me breakfast this morning, so she told me that I was supposed to kiss her." As soon as the words left my lips, I felt Callie's grip tighten on my hand. "I didn't want to." I quickly added, causing her to once more calm down. I had to be careful not to upset her too greatly. "But...your cousin has been very sad lately. She thought that I hated her, which I don't. So, I decided to kiss her, just so I could comfort her, I guess." Saying it out loud made it sound so stupid, and I prayed Callie wouldn't be angry.

"I see." She murmured. "Did it work?"

"Well, considering how excited she was to tell you, I'd say so." I weakly chuckled. "I made sure she knew it didn't mean anything before hand, and I made her promise not to tell you...at least until you were feeling better, I mean. She uhh...didn't do too well with that."

"You wanted her to keep it from me? Why?" Callie asked in surprise.

"Well, I know you have feelings for me." I quietly explained. "And with your injuries, I didn't want you to feel any sort of anxiety or stress, because I was worried it may make you worse. I also didn't want you to think that it meant something that it didn't, because I thought you may expect it to mean that I'd decided that I was interested in Marie, even though I'm not, but…" I caught myself rambling just as Callie squeezed my hand once more to stop me. Looking into her eyes, I gave a slight huff. "Sorry." I finally apologized.

"Well, if it made her happy, then I'm happy." She promised me with a grin. "I think you were Marie's first kiss, actually."

"So she kept telling me."

"Yeah, as much as tries to stay aloof, Marie's actually pretty boy crazy."

"Funny, that's what she says about you." I teased.

"M-me? N-n-no! I mean...I've dated like...twice...maybe." Her words continued to grow softer as she tried to cover up her timid nature. "I mean, it's not like I have a boyfriend or anything. Work's been so busy lately."

"Hey, it's alright." I promised. "I don't judge."

"Well...so what now?" She wondered.

I scratched the back of my nub like tentacles nervously. "Well, we kind of talked about that. She suggested that...umm…" I found myself struggling to get the words out. Even still, she waited patiently me for to finish. "Marie suggested that I kiss you. Just to make things even between everyone."

Now it was her turn to fall silent as she tried to find her words. Her lips moved silently, trying to come up with something, though no sound would escape from them. Despite my vocalized reluctance, I found myself leaning closer to her.

Her lips fell still now as I shifted to sit beside her on the bed. My free hand reached across her to gently massage her long jet black tentacle. My fingers traced over the pink speckles that rested at its tip before slowly sliding up the smooth flesh to cup her cheek.

"M-mr. O-octoling?" She asked, her shy stammer getting worse as I leaned closer without a word. Oddly, I found myself wanting this, as though her desires were being channeled through me as well. "Well...I suppose…" She murmured, her eyes beginning to close. "Fair's fair...right?" Her words were barely a gasp at this point.

Following suit, my eyes slowly closed as well and after a brief moment of darkness, our lips found one another's. This felt so right, somehow. I still stuck by my original thought. There was no way we could be together. I was an Octoling, she was an Inkling, and yet...somehow, I found myself realizing that if I was forced to make a choice, this was the one I'd make.

Marie was cute, and inside I did feel for her. But it paled in comparison to the way that Callie's lips made me feel right now. My hearts raced, and I could hear her monitor moving more rapidly too. I thought about pulling away; I didn't want to put too much strain on her hearts, but before I could move, her other hand wrapped around my head. Her fingers slid through my tentacles, pulling me closer as she kissed me even deeper, an action I gladly reciprocated.

Her mouth opened slyly, serving as a doorway for her tongue to slip through to dance with mine. I sighed happily, surrendering myself to the feelings that'd overcome me. Releasing her hand, I slid my arm beneath her waist to pull her against me as I lay down beside her.

In turn, her now freed arm pressed her palm against my chest, seeking out the vibrations of my heart. She managed to find them easily, our deep kiss seeming to last for so long, and yet, ended almost too quickly. One of us, I'm still not sure who, gave a reluctant whimper as our lips parted, my thumb caressing her soft cheek as we lay there in our embrace.

"I-is that how you kissed Marie?" She panted, her hazy eyes staying locked into mine.

I shook my head. "No...not even close…" I replied.

The older popstar pressed herself against me further, nuzzling under my chin. I could tell that she was just as confused about this as I was. For a long while, no words were shared between us. "Why?" She finally asked.

"Why?" I repeated.

"Why did you kiss me differently than Marie?"

"I'm not sure." I admitted, knowing that even if I'd tried to lie, she'd be able to tell through my heart beats. Though at this point, I could still feel it racing fiercely, and yet, with Callie beside me it didn't hardly hurt at all. After a moment, I muttered. "Though you know...I did technically kiss Marie twice. So...for the sake of fairness…"

I didn't even get to finish the sentiment before Callie eagerly threw herself against me. Once again, I found myself transported into a higher state of consciousness, brought on by the loving and tender feeling of our bodies against one another. This time, my mind began to make notes of the things that I hadn't noticed before.

The sweet taste of her lips, the surprising warmth of her body against mine, the feeling of her breath slowly rolling over my face as she exhaled through her nose. Her monitor began to beep even more excitedly now, to the point where I was becoming concerned that if we continued she may overstrain herself.

It took every ounce of will I had to pull away from her again and as we stared into one another's hearts and soul, I could see her confusion deep inside. "Please tell me you kissed her a third time." Callie pleaded, causing us both to smile and giggle with one another.

When at last, our laughter subsided, I averted my eyes from hers. "I'm so sorry, Callie. I never meant to hurt you."

"I know." She replied, not budging an inch. "You'd never purposely hurt me, would you Mr. Octoling?" Her question was less of an inquiry and more of a rhetorical purr. It was a side of Callie I'd never seen before. Oddly enough, while she still looked beautiful, when I'd entered she seemed so frail. But after our kiss, now her body was glowing with joy. "You take wonderful care of us."

"Yeah?" I mused, nuzzling my nose against hers as we cuddled closer to one another. "I'm glad you think so."

"So...is Marie here with you?"

"No. She said she didn't get much sleep last night, so I left her napping on her couch. I don't know how, she was asleep when I had to carry her home."

Callie beamed, once again running her fingers through my tentacles. "Once I'm better, you'll have to carry me home, too. Okay?"

"Alright. It's a promise."

She buried her face in my neck as we just lay there, indulging in the warmth of one another. My hands traveled along the curves of her body to rest on her hips, just as her arms wove around me for the same purpose. We didn't want either of us to pull away. "I know this is going to hurt eventually." She whispered to me. Despite her melancholic words, she was still smiling at me.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, this doesn't mean anything. Right?"

The disappointment in her voice was palpable, but even still I just drew her closer to me. "No." I admitted finally. Her eyes lit up as they met with mine. "It does mean something. It means a lot, actually. I know we haven't known each other long Callie, but every time I'm with you I feel so…" I desperately tried to find the right words to use.

"It's like a spinning in your chest." She finished. My look of bewilderment must have been enough for her to read because she just giggled. "I've heard it explained a lot of ways. Butterflies, like your hearts are doing backflips, but for me it's more like I've got one of those toy pinwheels in my chest. I used to love them as a kid, because no matter how sad I was, looking at them always made me smile. I loved the way the colors spun and blended together."

The image of a tiny Callie running around with a pinwheel, her trademark giggle trailing behind her was adorable. "Those weren't nearly as popular when I was a kid." I replied. "Underground, there's no wind, so we'd just have to blow on them to make them spin." My eyes gleamed as I realized the feeling I had. "That's it…"

"Hmm?"

"The feeling I have...it's like something is blowing through me. If I close my eyes when I'm near you, I can almost feel it rustling through my tentacles."

"I guess we make a pretty good match then. I'm the pinwheel and you're the wind that makes my hearts spin." Her face became a bright red as she once more burrowed into my throat. "Oh, that was so lame." She whined. "I can't believe I just said that."

I just gave a slight chuckle, my hand grasping her long black tentacle so I could rub it affectionately. She quieted quickly, her eyes going to my hands as I massaged it for her.

"That feels nice." She commented as I slowly ran my fingers along her suction cups. The pink at the ends of her dark tentacles seemed especially sensitive, most likely because of the nerve endings. "You're going to be at it all night if you're not careful."

"I wouldn't mind."

"So that's how this is going to be?" She asked flirtatiously. "My new boyfriend is going to spoil me rotten?"

My fingers stopped, causing it to slip from my grasp. "Callie…I'm not your boyfriend."

She looked at me confused. "But you said that it meant something." She protested. "I just thought…"

"You thought wrong." I corrected her. "It did mean something Callie, but I can't be your boyfriend."

She fell silent, and I could tell that I'd ruined the once cheerful mood. I went to detangle myself from her, so she could be alone. I imagined that was what she wanted, but instead her grip on me tightened so I couldn't leave. "Please." Her one-word plea was scarcely a whimper, but somehow it managed to stop me as if it were a barked command. Her eyes were watering as she gently leaned forward to place a gentle kiss briefly on my lips. "Please," she repeated, "don't take my wind away."

A searing guilt ran through my entire being as I looked away from her. I couldn't stand to see the hurt in those enchanting golden eyes. "I told you...Octolings don't have wind." Her tears were leaving tiny rivers down her cheeks now.

"Why are you doing this?"

I remained silent. What could I possibly tell her that would make this better? "It hurts me too, alright?" I tried. "Believe me, I want to be your boyfriend, really I do. But I can't."

"Can you at least explain why?"

I absently played with her tentacle, trying to work up the courage to say what I needed to. "Because, I know you can do better." I whispered finally. "Because I'm an Octoling and you're an Inkling. Because I could never ask you to leave Squid Sisters for me. Because I'm an imperfect, bloodthirsty, killer who should have died a long time ago. Deep inside, I think you know that I'm not good enough."

"How can you even say that?" She asked. "I don't care that you're an Octoling. I don't care if I am in Squid Sisters, I'm not going to hide you away like a pet. Nobody's perfect and if you think you're bloodthirsty for killing one man, imagine how many Octarians I've wiped out and then tell me you're bloodthirsty." The fierceness of her argument shook me. Was she really that serious about all of this? "If you don't want to be my boyfriend Mr. Octoling, I understand. But...just promise me something." I nodded my head carefully. "Promise me that you won't leave us."

My hearts began to pound fiercely against my chest. The pain that had been suppressed came rushing back as I turned from her, coughing in a fit. She frowned, stroking my back gently as I struggled to regain my air. When at last my body had stopped trying to eject the blood and bile, I wiped my mouth, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I'm sorry." She whimpered. "I didn't mean to upset you, it's just...I don't want you to go away. You are the wind in my pinwheel, even if you don't think so."

I shook my head. "You didn't." I wheezed, my voice dry and raspy. "I…" Another string of coughs interrupted me, "...promise." I finished at last. Just as I felt myself about to start hacking up a lung again, I felt Callie's arms wrap around me, hugging me tightly. I could feel her warmth surrounding me like a protective blanket.

"Thank you."

My hand went to hers where it rested on my chest, nuzzling back against her. Somehow, her very touch seemed to soothe my ails. I could only hope that I had the same effect on her as the two of us sat there in silence. "I'm sorry if you're angry with me." I finally spoke up.

"I'm not angry. Just...disappointed."

"In me?"

"In the situation."

"I'm sorry."

"Me too."

There was another awkward pause between us as we struggled to adjust to our quickly forming predicament.

"Mr. Octoling?"

"Yes?"

"Do you want to leave?"

I turned to face her, looking her square on. There was apprehension, the fear that my answer would be the one that broke her hearts. "No." I answered truthfully. "I can't go back."

Despite my answer, her expression didn't change. "Can't?" She asked.

"I'm a wanted man now." I explained. "If I try to return to Octo Valley, they'll keep looking for me. Even if I did go back, it'd be putting my family in danger."

"But do you _want_ to go back?" She repeated, emphasizing her point. "If you could go back, would you?"

"No."

Callie felt incredibly conflicted. On one hand, she was happy that I'd chosen to stay, but at the same time, she knew it must be sad to be forced from one's home. Trying hard to hide her smile, she wanted to stay supportive. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not sure." I admitted. "My life there is gone, I know that now. But...there's not much of a life for me here, either."

She seemed to ponder it for a moment before an idea came to her head. "Hey. What did you do before you were a soldier?"

"I worked in an electronics shop. Why?"

"Well…" she began, her eyes shimmering excitedly, "we don't have very many electronic shops here in Inkopolis. What if we helped you open your own?"

"Callie…"

"Seriously, just think about it!"

"No one would shop there!" I argued. "In case you forgot, the last time they even found a piece of me they threw the two of you in prison! They were going to torture you and charge you for treason!"

She sank. "I'm just trying to help." She muttered.

"I know." I replied, this time more calmly. "I appreciate you trying to help me, but right now I don't think there is anything anyone can do."

She frowned, nuzzling against me again. Just as I was about to try to comfort her again, the door opened, revealing a surprised Captain. "Oh...sorry, didn't mean to interrupt." He quickly apoligzed, but Callie just smiled weakly at him.

"It's okay, Gramps. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just need to change your IV." He explained, walking to the now almost empty bag. Disconnecting everything, I smiled sheepishly, working to get up, but she gripped me tighter, refusing to let me go. Was she really not bothered by us being in the same bed in front of her grandpa? "Now, you know the drill squiddo." He explained, reattaching a new bag.

"I'm ready." She assured him. As he plugged in the new bag, she let out an agonizing hiss of pain, squeezing tightly onto my shirt. What was in that bag that would hurt her so much? After a moment, her breathing began to steady as her grip loosened. "Sorry." She whispered. "It always hurts when a new one is introduced."

"What is it?" I asked.

"A special medicine." Cuttlefish explained, squeezing the bag to ensure it was flowing properly. "I discovered it a long time ago. It can heal almost any wound so long as the person stays off their feet for a while. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to come by. I don't have much left in stock. Looks like this will be the last of it, so don't go getting shot up again." He lectured Callie, shaking his finger at her.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine so long as Mr. Octoling is around." She giggled, causing his eyes to narrow at me. He didn't have to say anything for me to know that he was concerned. I simply nodded to him, indicating that I understood. "Gramps, what did you say it's name was again?"

Returning his gaze to his granddaughter, he grinned. "R'lyeh Ink."

A grasp of dread overcame me as my blood seemed to freeze in my veins. I began to shudder uncontrollably, the visions that I had managed to keep off returning with a vengeance. I don't remember much, but when I came to I found myself screaming my hands gripping my mantle. Callie and Cuttlefish were hovering over me.

"Lusca? Are you alright?" He asked.

"I've got to go." I responded, moving to leave quickly. Something was going on, were these two the source of my visions? I could feel paranoia setting in. I was out for a long time when he treated me for my Ick. Was that when he drugged me? Maybe the handcuffs…

Before I could leave, he grasped my chest, restraining me as I flailed madly. "Calm yourself." He instructed.

"RELEASE ME!" I barked, my eyes feeling as if they were on fire.

Callie looked between the two of us confused. "Gramps, what's wrong with him?"

"Get the handcuffs!" He demanded, which she quickly did, hobbling past me with a concerned glance. I still struggled, but the old man's strength was surprisingly resilient. When she returned, he managed to grab one end and before I could get away he slapped it on my wrist before connecting it to the bed frame. I tugged hard at it, snarling like some sort of animal. "Callie, don't get near him."

"Gramps…" Her voice was trembling now.

I bared my fangs at him as he came closer, dipping his finger in a bit of the ink. I tried to pull away with a hiss as he began to mutter something in the language I'd heard in my dreams. I knew it! He was the one responsible. I tried to snap at him with my teeth and legs, but he easily just avoided my flailings.

It was then that the fiery sensation overtook my body and darkness blocked out my vision. I could hear a mad cackling, before everything went silent. As light began to return to my sight, something was different. I felt more at ease now than I had before. "You alright son?"

"Y-yeah...I think so. What did you just do to me?"

He held up a mirror, revealing a strange lopsided five point star with an eye painted in the center. It was the symbol he'd drawn on my forehead and examining it, I was unsure of what to make of it. "It's called the Elder Sign." He explained. "It's a ward against evil of all kinds. I don't know how you managed it, but it seems like the sins of the past are catching up with you."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I demanded.

Callie rushed to my side, despite her Gramps holding out his arm in caution. Throwing her arms around me, she began to tear up. "Mr. Octoling, I was so scared...you were acting like some sort of wild animal. You kept accusing us of terrible things. I thought I'd lost you."

"I did?"

"Don't worry. You weren't under your own control." The old soldier explained, unlocking the handcuffs to release me.

Rubbing my wrist, I looked up at him. "What is happening to me?" I asked. "Am I dangerous?"

"Very." He stated bluntly. "Callie...go call your cousin. She needs to be here on the double." She looked at me hesitantly, as if she didn't want to get up. "Go." He repeated, causing her to begrudgingly stand and leave. "Listen closely to me son...I know it's hard, but that seal won't hold forever. If you smudge it or damage it even a little, you'll go back to how you were."

"Then I have to leave, right? I don't want to hurt anyone."

"Oh no. You're too dangerous to be released to the public."

"This again?"

"Shut yer trap!" He ordered, cutting me off. "This hasn't anything to do with your people, squiddo. This is an evil far greater than even you could expect. You've already felt the first effects: paranoia. Let me guess, you've been seeing awful visions in your dreams. Have you started seeing hallucinations yet?"

"Hallucinations? I'm going to start to hallucinate?"

"Good. Then you've got some time still." He muttered to himself, going to the shelf to peruse the books. Reaching behind a particularly thick tome, he dropped a small book, seemingly bound in some unknown material. "This," he explained, "is the Necronomicon."

"The what? Please, just tell me what's happening."

"She's on her way." Callie informed him, returning to see the book on the ground. She too seemed as confused by this as I was.

"Good. I'm sorry to pull you back into active duty so quickly Agent 1, but I'm afraid we have an emergency with this new development." HIs eyes focused on me. "And you, Agent 4, are going to help these two. I'll explain everything once Marie gets here."

The three of us ended up sitting around a table waiting patiently. Callie's hand took mine under the table. I could tell she was really afraid. "Gramps?"

"I told you I'll explain when she gets here."

"You called Lusca, Agent 4."

"Yes."

"Who is Agent 3?"

He gave a sly grin. "Don't worry about that now, sweetheart. You'll meet her soon enough."

"I'm here!" Marie gasped, bursting through the front door. "What's happened? What's the emergency?"

"Sit down, Marie." He calmly instructed her.

She complied, taking a seat beside me to repeat the same gesture as Callie. "Gramps?"

He took a deep breath, looking intently at the three of us. "I'd prayed that this day would never come." He began. "It's time, squiddos, for me to tell you the true story of the Great Turf Wars. The fall of the Octolings was no mere whim. I'm sorry to say that this is something I've kept from you all your lives, to protect you. But now, that's no longer an option. Allow me to tell you the story of a being that goes simply by Cthulhu."

To be continued...


	13. Chapter 13

An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 13

 **Author's Note: Hey everyone, sorry it took me so long to update this story. We have the introduction to a new character in this chapter, one that's been alluded to a few times but never outright mentioned. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and be sure to fave and review! Best of luck in life and literature. -Kiba**

"Long ago, farther back than all of Inkling kind, before the Great Turf War, before anything in our world was able to form thoughts other than 'eat', a fantastic race made a fantastic journey through the stars. These beings, which have been known as the Great Old Ones, took over the world in its entirety. They were immensely powerful and terrifying. Many creatures who looked upon them simply died because their minds could not process what it was they gazed upon. For eons they ruled over everything, from the deepest ocean to the highest bit of sky, until finally, something fantastic happened.

No one knows for certain, but some shift in the celestial alignment allowed for the destruction of the Great Old Ones. All of them simply vanished into nothingness and finally life could once more blossom freely as it was meant to be. Except that not all were gone. A small shard of the one known as Cthulhu, waited beneath the waves of the ocean, for he knew what the others did not, that where they were going there could be no return.

A galaxy outside of our own was incinerated, every speck of life inside of it burning to rid the universe of the Great Old Ones. Cthulu's essence was protected, unable to be found by the fiery inferno that sought to consume him, and when at last things ended, he knew that it would be several eternities before it was his time once again. With that, his eyes closed, and the Old God fell still, in such a deep sleep that he straddled the line of living and dead."

Callie's hand tightened around mine as he told his story, unable to stop herself from shaking. "Grandpa, I don't understand." She whimpered, the fear in her voice evident. "Why are you telling us these things?" My hand returned her squeeze, causing her to seemingly take solace in our contact while she waited for a response.

"I'm sorry Squiddos, all of you. This is going to become harder than it will be easier, and I'm afraid by the time we're done you'll have even more questions and fewer answers than you started with. But this is important, so I need you to bear with me. After that, came the time of the great beasts. The first of our kind, the Cephalopods, were formed as servants to Cthulhu. We began to work, building a vast empire for our master beneath the waves, known only at R'yleh. Soon, Cthulhu arose and wiped out the great beasts of the surface, sparing only those who were loyal to him.

When at last, the carnage was completed, he sat beneath the waves in his palace, returning to the slumber from whence he came. Time and time again, beings rose to conquer the earth, and our kind watched as Cthulhu destroyed them all. But then, something different happened. A new race was formed, one whose intellect and influence were rivaled only by the Great Old Ones. They began to shape our world, changing it how they saw fit. These 'humans', as they called themselves, began to explore every inch of the earth. Their minds did not focus on the concept of 'feeding', but solely on the quest for knowledge and understanding.

They stumbled upon our city, the city of R'yleh. They began to live among our kind, even paying homage to Lord Cthulhu as he slept. Great ships were built and sunk, utilized to craft his palace to become even grander than before. For some of us, it was the hope of a new era. The existence of a race that could be peaceful with Cthulhu. No longer would we have to watch as life was destroyed needlessly. We were wrong.

When he awoke once more, Cthulhu turned on the humans who'd sought to serve him. Erasing them from existence, he felt, was not enough. He would punish the lands above by making them watch as every last one of them drowned beneath the waves, just as his kingdom had. In the end, we, the _Yuggya_ , were forced to watch as another race was eliminated from existence.

That was when we decided to flee the city of R'yleh. That wicked place held no safety in our minds anymore. If Cthulhu was willing to slaughter those loyal to him, it was only a matter of time before it happened to us. We began building our world on the backs of the humans. Ten thousand years after their fall, we'd taken their place as the rulers of the Earth. We prepared ourselves, however. Some of us forgot the ways of our ancestors, but the rest of us looked at the ocean, knowing that it was only a matter of time before Cthulhu awoke once more."

"So...Cthulhu is waking up?" Marie asked, resting her cheek in her hand. Callie and I were stunned by the nonchalant manner of her question. In her eyes was a concern that her grandfather had grown senile. After witnessing the transformation in myself, Callie knew he was not.

"No." He stated, a smile coming to his lips. "The time did come for the Great Old One to rise once more. He attempted to destroy our race, but there was one thing he did not count on. There was a prophecy that he would one day fall, and little did he know that he would fall by his own hand. All of the _Yuggya_ : Octolings, Inklings, and every other race, banded together to combat the dark lord. We assembled a team of our finest warriors to fight against him. This team was known as Squidbeak Splatoon."

"No way!" Callie cried, hey eyes glimmering with excitement. "Gramps, you were the one who killed Cthulhu?"

"I can hardly take all the credit." He muttered, scratching his chin. "There were others, of course. Octavio, Amos, myself...we all worked together to end the tyranny once and for all. But then something terrible happened. I fear that things went a little awry." Sitting down on a stool, his eyes locked directly with mine, sending an uncomfortable chill down my back. "The Octolings betrayed us. Their leader, Octavio, was once my best friend. But he had a moment of cowardice. He explained to the group that he feared we would not be able to defeat Cthulhu, and that if we joined him once more we could be spared. We ignored him, reminding him of the humans who thought the same before him. He pulled out his forces, electing instead to attack us to show his devotion to the Drowned God."

"He did what?!" I snapped. It was all starting to make sense now. The propaganda, the underground cities, the assaults on the surface. History was repeating itself and the helm of it all was Octavio. "How could he do something so evil?"

"He did what he thought best." Captain Cuttlefish snapped. "Do not make the mistake of assuming that Octavio is some sort of super villain, because at the end of the day, what he did he did to protect all of Octoling kind. He may have been misguided, but he is _not_ evil."

I fell silent. It was obvious that in his heart, Captain Cuttlefish still saw Octavio as his friend and ally. "Sorry." I whispered. "I know he is your friend. But he has ruined the lives of many Octarians. I know you say he isn't evil, and maybe he's not, but that doesn't mean I can just forgive him for everything we've been put through."

"The story isn't over yet, bucko." The sailor reminded me. "We managed to defeat Octavio's assault, driving him back into the city of R'yleh, which we now named Octo Valley. Those underground cities of yours are built on the skeletal remains of the awful and wretched place that was destroyed so many years ago. It was then that Cthulhu arose from his slumber, and surprisingly, we managed to defeat him."

"How?" Callie asked.

He smiled. "Amos Shellendorf was an absolute genius. He was a master at crafting weaponry and his invention that led to Cthulhu's death was nothing short of a piece of art. It was lost long ago, but we managed to destroy the Old One once and for all."

"But what about me?" I demanded, beginning to grow impatient. "What does any of this have to do with my dreams?"

"I suspect," he lectured, "that the electrical shock to your system jolted something in your hind brain. Perhaps you are reconnecting with Lord Cthulhu once more, and as such meaning that we missed some minor aspect of him that has now awakened. It's up to you three now. I'm far too old. The Ink of Cthulhu, 'R'yleh Ink', is able to heal any wounds you sustain, but it unfortunately makes him aware of you. I've used it in each of you at least once, I'm afraid. With him dead, there was no need for concern. But right now, Lusca, you are descending quickly into madness."

All three of us sat there in a hushed fear. Cthulhu was starting to be able to control me? That meant that both Callie and Marie were in danger. Everyone was. Captain Cuttlefish was right, I _was_ too dangerous for the public. Looking down at the table, a small tear fell to the wood. "I understand."

"Good."

"Just...make it quick. Alright? Aim for the hearts, not the mantle."

"Lusca, you can't be serious!" Marie snapped at me, as Callie gripped my hand tightly.

"We're not killing you!" She agreed.

"Were neither of you listening?" I shouted. "If Cthulhu has control of me, even a small piece, that means that I'm incredibly dangerous. This is the only way that I can be certain that you two will be safe. I want you to remember me this way, not the broken mind that is controlled by some freakish abomination."

"The girls are right." Captain commented, puffing a bit of tobacco smoke from his pipe. "Dying, I'm afraid, would not be the solution any more. Your body will still be controlled as a husk, moved on its own accord to act out the whim of its master. Sadly, I'm afraid that without you resisting his influence, it'll be that much easier for him to control you."

"Then what are you expecting me to do?" I demanded.

"That answer should be a simple one." He replied with a wink. "The three of you are going to kill Cthulhu again. Whatever piece of him is still left over, you're going to destroy it."

"Right." Both girls agreed in unison, standing up to begin making preparations. I watched them both in shock.

"But what about the weapon?"

"Amos' grandson, Sheldon runs a weapons shop in the square." Callie explained. "He should have some idea as to where it is. He's pretty smart too, he may even be able to recreate it for us anyway."

"But...Octavio…" I tried again.

"Has no idea." Marie commented, selecting splattershot from the wall and holstering it on her back. "He won't be able to interfere with us so long as we keep our heads down. Besides, we're just two Inklings and an Octoling rogue. He won't see us as much of a threat."

"On the cautious side, however, I've been sending Agent 3 to investigate the missing Great Zapfish. She'll most likely find out that Octavio is behind it, but even if not, she'll keep the Octarian forces plenty busy."

Callie took my hand, pulling me towards the wall of weapons. "Take your pick." She offered gesturing towards it. "You'll need something to defend yourself, right?"

"But...I…" I began to stammer. Everything was moving so fast and it was making my head spin. Callie hoisted a collapsing roller from the rack and strapped it to her back as well, turning to smile at me.

Placing her hands on either side of my cheeks, she stared deep into my eyes. "Lusca, it will be okay. I promise." She whispered to me. "I know it's confusing. I'm not even sure if I understand it completely. But there is one thing I understand and that is that if we don't do this, I _will_ lose you. I can't let that happen." She paused for a moment before finally uttering. "I love you." With those three words, echoing in my mind, she leaned forward and placed her lips against mine sweetly. I could feel Marie's eyes on us both as Callie pulled away, running her tongue over her lips. "Come on. If we're going to do this, we'll need to get going soon. The less time we spend in Octovalley the better."

I nodded in agreement, unable to speak. Instead, my mind left her words to focus on the task at hand. Reaching upward, I grasped the modified .52 Gal, it's weight feeling comfortable in my grip. "Alright." I finally answered. "Let's go kill us a monster."

* * *

Agent 3's eyes opened slowly as the sound of a monotonous buzzing filled the air. She stared intently at her phone that now hummed and danced on her nightstand, as if that would allow her to turn back time so it would not have awoken her. After another buzz, she let out a frustrated groan before her hand reached out for the device. Flipping it open, she placed it beside her ear with a sleepy yawn. "Hey Agent 3. Sorry to wake you so early, I've got an assignment for you."

She frowned, taking the phone from her ear to glare menacingly at her phone. Just who did this old man think he was calling her at...she checked the clock beside her bed. 3:00 AM! She groaned, hitting her head against the headboard in irritation.

"This is Captain Cuttlefish...you know, the old man you spoke to a few days ago."

Agent 3 never was much of a talker. Indeed, much like many other young Inklings her age, she preferred to speak in a series of rolled eyes and sarcastic scoffs, to great irritation to the older Inklings around her.

"Right then...I need you to head down to Octo Valley. It's time you got started on your fight against the Octarian forces." As he prattled on, she covered her mouth for another yawn, looking back at her pillow and contemplating how long it would take him to realize if she just muted her phone and went back to sleep. "So you see, my granddaughters will be there with a young man that has a funny looking symbol on his head."

Agent 3 blinked. She'd zoned out too much and missed what he said. She let out a sheepish and confused "Umm…?"

The captain sighed over the phone, clearly growing impatient with the younger Inkling. "I need you to listen very closely." He enunciated, causing her to focus as much of her attention as possible through the phone. "Grab your gear. Head to Octovalley. There's a big mission that needs you and I'll be guiding your actions as you go. You'll most likely bump into my granddaughters and a young Octoling with a symbol on his forehead. Do _not_ eliminate him, he is one of ours. Understand?"

"Mmhm." She hummed, swinging her legs out over the bed. Before the Captain could give her confirmation he understood, however, she shut her phone, hanging up on him. Opening her closet, a soft and mischievous grin came to her lips. Finally, she was going to be facing a real challenge. Grabbing the hero vest, she slipped it on over her school uniform (which she felt was surprisingly fresh), before arming herself with her favorite gun and sidearms. Popping a piece of gum into her mouth, she blew one apathetic bubble before lowering her headphones down over her ears. The Squid Sisters, she knew, were like her secret weapon. Whenever she heard their music, the rhythms inside just spoke to her and guided her through the battle field.

Peering out her bedroom door, she could still hear the sound of the TV on in the den downstairs. Her parents were probably passed out on the couch again after arguing all night. Better to not risk waking them.

Pushing open her window, she sprayed a quick burst of ink along her wall. Everyone was asleep, so no one would see it before it disappeared, but even if they did, ten minutes later they'd have no proof anyhow. She knew her parents were dumb enough to fall for the mannequin she left in her bed, so without a worry, she leapt into the ink and slowly slid down the wall before leaping to the ground smartly.

She holstered her gun, taking off down the street towards downtown Inkopolis. There was only one place to enter Octovalley, she knew, and she intended to get there before the other agents. This was the way she was. Everything was a contest and Agent 3 never lost.

* * *

As the three of us approached the sewer grate, my eyes turned back to the two cousins who trailed behind me. Did Marie know about what happened between Callie and I? She saw the kiss in front of the weapons rack, but she could be in the dark about the rest of it. Even still, I noted a hint of annoyance in her features. I couldn't talk to either of them with the other present, however. Things would just break down into an argument between them.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." Marie commented.

"Sorry?"

"You've been staring intently at me over your shoulder every few minutes. Is there something that's concerning you, lover boy?"

I let out an irritated huff. She wasn't ever going to let anything go. I wanted to tell her that yes, I was concerned that she would off herself like she tried to do not even a day ago, but instead I held my tongue.

"Don't tease him, Marie." Callie lectured. "If you were in his shoes, you'd fall for us both too, right?"

The two girls giggled amongst themselves, only serving to make my cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Great, now Callie was in on the jokes too. It felt like I could never catch a break. The radio in my ear let out a slight buzz as the Captain called in. "Agent 4…"

"What is it?" I snapped. "Care to contribute some more jokes to the conversation?"

"Jokes?" He replied puzzled. "Well, I know the one about the mollusk and the sea cucumber…"

"Never mind, forget I said anything," I grumbled. "What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to let you know that Agent 3 is en route to your…" His words were cut off as a big splotch of ink suddenly blasted from my right, causing me to quickly roll out of the way. Our guns were drawn as a lithe shadow slid in and out of vision around us.

"Not now Cap. We're under attack." I growled, looking intently through the trees. There! There were ripples in the ink. I quickly sprayed a line just in front of it, only for a squid to leap high over it. As it fell back towards the ink, I could have sworn it winked at me before diving back under as Callie and Marie backed towards me. "It's an Inkling!" I declared, bracing myself. "A friend of yours?"

They both shook their heads as another quick stream launched towards us from the side. Whoever this soldier was, they were super quick. I shouted to Callie and Marie, causing us to separate, narrowly avoiding being splatted. That was when I realized it...the Inkling was only targeting me! Which mean that it viewed Callie and Marie as collateral. As much as I hated to admit it, I'd have to use that to defeat our mysterious attacker.

I quickly ran towards Callie. Diving forward, I tumbled just beneath another stream of ink before grabbing her. She looked at me in shock as my arm went across her shoulders as if I were shielding myself with her. "M-Mr. Octoling?! What are you doing?"

I could hear the splash from behind me. Amateur mistake. I quickly released Callie, turning and lashing out with a fierce kick that struck the airborne Inkling, sending it hurtling back into the ink with a surprised squeal. "That's right, I've figured out your little trick. You waited for me to be distracted by the girls before attacking me from behind. It won't work anymore." I shouted to the figure who seemed to remain stationary. That was when I heard the beeping. Looking down, I managed to leap out of the way, just as an Inkmine detonated.

A small bit of ink landed on my arm, but to my surprise there was no pain. The enemy was shooting blanks? What was the point of that? "Lusca!" Marie cried, leveling her splatter shot as a shadow fell over me from the street light.

"Marie, don't!" I called, just as she pulled the trigger. Turning, I lashed out with my arm, grabbing the shocked Inkling out of the air by the throat and tossing her hard to the ground with a pained grunt. Marie's ink sailed harmlessly to the ground a ways away as I leveled my gun at the now visibly teenage girl. "You've made a big mistake, kid." I snarled.

She didn't say anything, simply staring up at me with big eyes of admiration. "Lusca, do you know this girl?" Callie asked, stepping beside me as Marie suspiciously approached. "She looks familiar, but I can't say I know her."

"What's your name, kid?" I asked, causing a glimpse of annoyance to cross her features. Clearly, she was not pleased by my nickname.

"I swear, if you move an inch, I'll blow your brains out!" Marie ordered, causing the young Inkling to look at her in surprise. Her gaze quickly ran across all of us again, a big smile running across her features. Before Marie even had a chance to react, the girl dove at her, knocking the splatterscope's barrel upward and wrapping her arms tightly around her waist.

An awkward silence fell all around us as we just watched a visibly stunned Marie being embraced by this kid. "I...guess she's a fan…" Callie suggested, causing Marie to shudder as she squirmed uncomfortably.

"Fan or not...someone please get this child off of me." She pleaded, but the girl simply nuzzled closer to her.

"Lusca!" Captain's voice boomed in my ear, causing me to wince.

"Gods, what do you want Captain?!" I snapped.

"Listen to me, damn it! That's not an attacker, that's most likely Agent 3. I told her to meet you there, but knowing her she doesn't say 'hello' like most other folks."

"Yeah, no kidding. She's got an iron grip on your granddaughter right now."

"Oh right…" He murmured over the radio. That sounded like trouble.

"Right, what?"

"Agent 3 may not have known that my Granddaughters were the Squidsisters. I believe she's a big fan."

"Of Marie more than Callie." I noted, turning back to the girls and flashing them a thumbs up. "Agent 1, Agent 2...meet Agent 3."

"Her?" They both cried in unison.

"But she's just a little kid!" Marie protested, causing the young Inkling to grimace again. So she was sensitive about her age. "There's no way she's got what it takes to be a secret agent."

"She had you on your toes." Callie pointed out with a smile. "Welcome to the Team Agent 3. I'm Agent 1, my cousin there is Agent 2. That guy over there is Agent 4. I guess you know who Agent 2 and I are. His name is Lusca. What's yours?"

Her deep blue eyes turned to regard me with a quizzical expression. "Lusca?" She tested, the first word she'd spoken since we'd arrived there. She walked closer to examine me, releasing her grip on Marie.

"Somehow, I doubt that's your name." I commented sarcastically, causing her smile to become bigger.

"Steph." She finally murmured. "My name is Steph."

"Those were some very interesting tactics, Steph." I commented. "Where did you learn them?"

She simply shrugged, returning to her silent ways. Callie suddenly remembered where she'd seen the girl from as her expression brightened. "Oh! I know who you are!" She declared excitedly.

"You do?" Marie asked.

"So do you! Remember the Splatfest we hosted the other week? This girl was the highest scoring participant. Stepha…" The little girl covered Callie's mouth quickly to stop her, indicating for her to keep quiet about her name. Seemingly understanding, Callie nodded to her. "Don't worry, I won't tell them your full name." She giggled.

The teenager let out a sigh of relief. I'd have to remember that later if i needed to keep her in check. Teenagers were always trouble, I'd decided long ago. Even still, this one was very impressive. It wasn't like me to become jumpy over a kid. Touching the earpiece, I spoke into it. "Alright Captain, we've rendezvoused with Agent 3. Any instructions for me to give to her?"

"Tell her to proceed towards Octostamp Warehouse."

I scoffed. "Captain, I know you're not asking me to send this kid on a suicide mission."

"Don't underestimate her, squiddo! That girl's got about as much brains and skill at her age as you do now."

"I don't even know if _I_ can take on an Octarian Warmachine by myself!" I protested. "At least tell me we're going with this girl."

"Negative! You need to get to R'yleh as fast as you possibly can. I told you, that mark isn't going to hold forever and if it gets even just a little damaged, you'll find yourself in a very troubling position."

I looked at the young girl who was now staring up at me expectantly. So she'd latched on to someone else now. Wonderful. I groaned. "Fine, I'll tell her." Deactivating the earpiece, I turned to Agent 3. "Alright, your orders from the Captain are to proceed towards Octostamp Warehouse. _Be careful_! Those warmachines aren't a game and if you use normal ink on them like you were just using with us, it will not be pretty."

She simply grinned, holding up a few Ink tanks charged with anti-Octarian toxin. Popping another bubble from her gum, she slid her headphones back on. I could hear the sound of Callie and Marie singing through them as she waved to us, and quickly dove into the porthole leading to Octo Valley.

"Looks like Marie isn't the only one with a new admirer." Callie teased, standing beside me. "Just think, she'll be legal in just a few years."

"Shut up." I groaned, walking towards the grate. "We've got work to do. Let's go crack open that ancient city and get my sanity back, please?"

"Oh, Lusca. We all know you were never sane to begin with." Marie smirked, standing beside me before phasing through the grate. This was going to be a long mission, I decided. As Callie followed after her cousin, I did a quick look around to see if we were being followed. As I leapt into the grate, I didn't even notice the glowing eyes that would follow us down the hole.

To be continued...


	14. Chapter 14

An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 14

 **Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry it took so long to release a new chapter. I've received some mixed feelings about the whole Cthulu reveal. Some of you love it, others not so much, but I promise you that while there are elements of Lovecraftian horror, things will continue to switch back and forth between 'reality' and 'aberration'. That being said, at the end of February, 2016 I will be attending Anime Matsuri in Houston, TX. If you're interested in meeting me or my friends, send me a PM. I hope you enjoy! -Kiba**

* * *

As we fell, Marie and I quickly shifted back into our bipedal forms, landing with a harmless thud only to realize that Callie is not with us. "Guys!" She whined. Up above, Callie was dangling by the seemingly painful manner of one of her long tentacles. Her flailing was also not doing her any favors as she swung helplessly from the grate some hundred feet up.

"Does this sort of thing happen often on your missions?" I asked Marie.

"Try every time. Literally, every single time. I keep telling her to not transform until she's about to hit the ground, but she says she likes to feel like she's floating," she replied before cupping her hands over her mouth. "Agent 1! Just transform before someone notices you!"

"I'm almost ashamed I never have before."

"Eh, it happens. I don't think she's ever been caught like that. She's just lucky I guess...in more ways than one." The last part added from Marie was obviously pointed at me, but I just shrugged it off as Callie landed beside us with a splat, obviously embarrassed.

"Sorry." She murmured through her blushing cheeks as she walked forward from the entrance. After a few paces she stopped before turning back to us. "Erm...where are we supposed to go?"

"Excellent question." I replied, touching my transponder once again. "Did you catch that Captain?"

"Yep. Head 5 klicks South and rendezvous with Sheldon there. I already got him on the horn and explained what's going on, so he should have the weapon you need."

"He says Sheldon is waiting for us that way." I answered, gesturing with my hand. "There's a town over that direction, so it's entirely possible that's where he is. Keep your disguises up. If they pick you as Inklings we'll have to fight our way through an army."

"Why do Octarians hate Inklings so much?" Callie wondered, following into step with me as we proceeded towards our destination. "I know Gramps said we had a rocky relationship because of this Cthulu thing, but if no one else knows about it, why do they still hate us?"

Walking past a phone poll, I quickly ripped off a flyer and passed it to her. As her eyes scanned the sheet, her smile waned until it was a sad frown. "What does it say?" Marie asked.

"It's propaganda." I interjected. "Inklings are viewed as predatory and mindless. No offense. Most don't actually believe that, but it's hard to go against what we do know. We're stuck underground without electricity and you're not. If we go above ground, we get attacked or worse. Is it so difficult to see why we may hold a grudge?"

"If we do defeat Cthulu, do you think that we could let the Octarians come back again?" The older agent asked hopefully. "If we told everyone on the surface…"

"They'd throw us in prison again." Marie interrupted with a scoff. "Don't be naive Agent 1. You can't undo history. Our people are too far apart now to ever bring us back together."

Callie fell silent, looking to me hopefully for some sort of rebuttal, but sadly I couldn't come up with one. Instead, I strayed slightly closer to her and slid my hand in hers. I wanted to tell her that I believed it was possible, but she'd see right through my lie. It didn't stop me from wishing that it was.

She showed her appreciation with a gentle squeeze of my hand as we entered the city's limits, revealing it to be a series of rounded kettles embedded in hollowed out caverns. It was hard to believe I was back here. It'd been so long, even before I was captured. The city was, for the most part, silent.

"Wow." Callie gasped, her eyes sparkling as she spun, looking all around. "This is where Octarians live? It's so cool!"

"Don't be fooled, it's still every bit as dangerous." I whispered softly. "Patrols come from there, there, and there every hour." I pointed to the corresponding alley ways."

"How do you know that? Have you been here before?" Marie asked.

I smiled slightly. "You could say that." I replied, walking to a nearby kettle and placing my hand against the grate, I slowly moved it out of the way so we could just barely slip through. "Coming?" I asked.

They looked at one another confused before entering one by one, Callie gripping in the darkness to find my hand again. "What is this place?" She whispered, unable to see anything in the pitch black.

"My house." I replied, causing her to stop suddenly, tugging on my hand in the process. "It's okay. The only people here are us. Sometimes my Mom comes over when she wants space from Dad."

That assurance did little for her as Marie bumped straight into her back with an 'oof'. "Callie, why did you stop?" She hissed.

"But Lusca...I thought you said...you didn't…"

"Have family?" I asked. "What do you call it when you get shipped off to the military against your will for ten years? I never really wrote home or even visited. After being indoctrinated, my father seemed ashamed to even be with me, so I wrote it off as a weak will and went about my life."

"That's so sad." Callie murmured, ignoring her cousin's protest.

I simply shrugged, placing my hand on the door and pushing it open slowly. Inside a dim bulb swung from the roof revealing a rather dusty shop with small electronic parts scattered about. As the two girls came inside, their eyes scanned the inner walls of the small area.

"Wow. This place is insane," Marie commented, running her fingers over the derelict machines that rested on the shelves. Radios, TV's, stereos, almost any electronic device that could be thought of was here. "Did you build all of these?"

"No, most of them are scrap from the parts I've had to use to repair others. I doubt there's a single machine that still functions in here."

"Then, why are we here?" Callie's voice was uneasy. Was there something here that was making her nervous? "I thought we were supposed to meet with Sheldon."

"We are." I replied. "I know a shortcut." The room was beginning to become very hot. Understandable, since there was no air conditioning down below like there was on the surface. Beads of sweat began to form on my forehead and when I rubbed it with the back of my hand, I noticed a strange brown patch on it. Wiping it off on my pants, the three of us continued forward, but behind me I could hear them whispering to one another in hushed voices. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" They both cried together in unison, causing me to look to them both suspiciously. After they didn't say anything more, I turned away from them and continued walking towards the back of the shop. Looking at the point locater strapped to my wrist, I could see myself, Callie, and Marie walking through the shop. But behind us was a fourth dot.

"Down!" I cried, turning and firing quickly. Both girls hit the deck, as I began to rapidly fire at our pursuer. She just stood there, coated in ink and unharmed. That wasn't possible though, this ink should burn through anyone. Instead, she simply shook herself, causing the ink to fall around her in a wide puddle.

I was stunned by what I saw. It was a small child. She couldn't have been more than six or seven years old with dark purple and green tentacles and piercing violet eyes. Despite her innocent look, however, I felt a feeling of dread come over me. She was in danger! Her arms stretched out towards me, as if she were asking me to pick her up in the air, but as soon as I went to take a step, Callie and Marie rushed me from both sides, jerking me to the ground. The little girl began to sink into the ink, calling me towards her as I struggled beneath the grip of the two women. "Lusca, stop!" Callie cried, but I continued to squirm.

"Let me go! I need to...get to her!"

As I continued to struggle to get to a girl that no one else could see, Marie looked at her cousin in concern. "What do we do?" She muttered, the rage in my eyes building beneath the smeared symbol on my forehead.

Callie took a deep breath and removed her hands. As soon as she released me, I went to get up, but as her hands went to my cheeks she easily kept me in place as my heart rate began to slow. She looked deep into my eyes with her own, a somber worry flooding their gaze. "Please, Lusca. There's no one there. You need to get control of yourself," she whispered. "We can fix you, but we need your help. Please, don't let this get to you."

"Callie... " I muttered back, just as Marie's fist crashed down on my face causing me to cover my nose with a cry of pain. "Ow! What the Hell, Marie?"

"Fixed." She stated plainly, standing up as Callie clambered off of me. "Now then, the faster we get this done, the faster we can fix lover boy's mind. Let's hustle." As she walked away, Callie frowned, helping me to my feet.

"I'm sorry, Lusca."

"Ow." I groaned, tenderly touching the sore spot on my face. "Don't be...it's not your fault she's crazy."

She frowned, biting her lip nervously. "I'm not sure that's true."

* * *

Agent 3 slid down the hill she'd coated with Ink, easily blasting away Octarian forces around her. These guys were amateurs. They couldn't even begin to get close to touching her with their ink. Almost immediately, she scolded herself for her lax nature. After meeting Lusca, it was apparent that some Octarians were actually much more skilled than she would have presumed.

"Agent 3!" A voice buzzed in her ear, causing her to stop for a moment. Putting her gun over her shoulder, she fired straight behind her to hit the Octoball that was sneaking up on her. "How goes your advancement? Are you beginning to get close to the Octostamp?"

"Mmhm." She hummed cheerfully, arming a seeker and tossing it along the ground. With a series of beeps, it locked on to the hiding Octarian who thought himself safe before homing in on him and exploding in a cloud of ink.

"Excellent work. Way to be, Agent 3! Now listen up Squiddo, Lusca wasn't kidding around when he explained how dangerous this mission is."

The lazy Inkling nodded her head in understanding, until a giant shadow loomed over her. "Umm…" She began, turning to see the gigantic war machine looming over her. On the front was the gigantic face of an Octoling. It's entire body was comprised of a gigantic metal cube and as it slowly lumbered towards her, she wondered how in the world she hadn't heard it approaching behind her. Had she let her guard down?

Captain Cuttlefish had heard that 'umm' before. It was the sound that she was in hot ink, but from where he was there wasn't much he could do. "You alright Agent 3?"

The only response he heard was the sound of ink being splattered all over the place. Meanwhile, Agent 3 leapt to the side, just as the enormous block hit the ground with earth-shaking force that nearly knocked her off her feet. A nova of ink splattered around him towards her, but she managed to quickly fire a spray of her own ink that protected her from it. Seeing her opportunity, she sprayed up it's side and quickly swam to its back where an exhaust port waited.

Pulling the pin on an ink grenade, she tossed it into the pipe before siphoning her ink to propel her to safety. With a boom, smoke began to billow out of its back, causing the thing to jerkily spin in confusion. This was her talent, the only thing she felt she could claim as her own. Her skill made her valuable for only one thing: being an unstoppable force of war. There was a click in her headset as it switched to the next track.

 _Tonight, my head is spinning. I need something to pick me up! I've tried, but nothing is working. I won't stop; I won't say I've had enough! Tonight, I start the fire! Tonight, I will break away!_

A smug grin crossed her features as the thing's shadow fell over her once more. It was mid air, but she knew what to do now. With a flash, she vanished from where she stood, causing the thing to hit nothing but empty ink as panels crumbled away from its side.

 _Break! Away from everybody! Break! Away from everything! If you can't stand, the way this place is, take yourself to higher places!_

Aiming downward, she propelled herself up and over the thing's back. Another exhaust port! As she landed on it with a thud, she shoved the nozzle of her weapon in and flooded it's compartment with the destructive and sticky liquid. With both ports blocked, there was only one more thing to do.

 _At night, I feel like a vampire! It's not right, I just can't give it up! I'll try to get myself higher, let's go! We're going to light it up! Tonight, we start the fire! Tonight, we will break away!_

The machine lurched beneath her, sending her straight towards a sea of violet Octarian Ink. If she fell into that, it'd be the end of her. She quickly sprayed a small spot beneath her, and angled to dive straight in with a light splash. She could feel the Octoarian Ink burn her skin where she brushed against it, but she was grateful to have not been drowning in it. As she came up for air, again the thing was right above her going for a body slam.

 _Break! Away from everybody! Break! Away from everything! If you can't stand, the way this place is, take yourself to higher places!_

Tears began to stream down her cheeks. This was the end for her. She wondered how long it would be before her parents realized she wasn't there. Someone new would come along and take her spot in Splatfest. That was when Lusca's face appeared in her mind. She wouldn't give up, not until she could defeat him!

Dropping a seeker, she kicked it hard, skidding it across the ground and smearing a path of ink. She immediately, dropped and swam faster than she ever had before through the ink before she found herself bursting out into the light.

 _If you can't stand, the way this place is…_

Turning back, she saw the splayed mechanical legs of the device. She began to spray her ink deep into the mechanisms to gum up the movements. It wouldn't be getting back up anymore.

 _Take (take)_

Climbing up the the things back, she found the entrance hatch to the cockpit.

 _Yourself (yourself)_

Grasping it, she ripped it open to see a horrified Octoling looking up at her.

 _To higher places!_

Tossing a grenade inside, she immediately slammed the hatch shut, standing on it. After a few moments of desperate banging beneath her feet, a tremor followed by the oozing of her viridian green ink from the hatch's sides preceded the final words of the song.

 _Take yourself to higher places!_

Spinning her gun skillfully, she tucked it back into her holster before pausing her soundtrack. Placing her fingers to her ear, she paged the Captain. The world around her was eerily silent, the screams of the Octoling still fresh in her mind. "Agent 3? Are you alright?"

"It's done."

As the radio cut out once more, Captain Cuttlefish shuddered. That child was almost nightmarishly frightening. Once again, he questioned the wisdom of bringing her on board, but he couldn't deny that she obtained results. "Way to go, squiddo," he replied in a shaky voice. "We've got another mission for you if you're ready. It's going to be even more of a doozy than this one. If you want to go home and rest, I'll understand."

Steph considered it for a moment. Her chest rose and fell, struggling to catch up with the physical exertion she'd just spent destroying the mechanical monster. "Lusca…"

"He and Agents 1 and 2 are still on their own mission. I'm afraid it's much too dangerous for you to…"

She immediately cut him off. "No rest." Switching off her radio, she drew her gun and began spraying herself a path through the field of half-melted corpses to get to her next objective. She wouldn't stop, not after she destroyed a hundred Octarian War Machines. He may see her as a kid, but she wouldn't cease until he acknowledged her as a fellow soldier.

* * *

As the three of us went through the shop, I could still feel the intense pain from Marie's strike. How close had I come from diving headfirst into that puddle of ink? More importantly, who was that young girl? She looked a little like an Octoling...Inkling too. Was she something in between? The possibility sent my mind reeling as my gaze went to Callie. If an Inkling and an Octoling could mate then, could we also…

"Callie, I think it's time to punch him again." Marie called from behind me. "He's got that look on his face."

"What look?" I growled. "This is my normal face!"

"He's fine, Marie," Callie huffed as she tightened the grip on her roller. "I'm still not convinced that you should have hit him."

"It worked, didn't it?"

"Please don't talk about me like I'm not here." I interjected.

"Look Callie, I get that you like him, but you have to realize that he's not in control anymore. We need to control him before someone or some _thing_ else does. Besides, his brain is spread through his whole body, remember? Punching him in the face isn't a huge risk of injury."

"That doesn't mean I enjoy it!"

"Lusca, please...calm down," Callie pleaded, pushing open the entrance to the tunnel before immediately shutting it again with a surprised squeal. "We can't go down there."

"Why?" Marie demanded, walking over to it and opening it. Inside the entire tunnel was pitch black. "Ugh, Callie come on! Grow up."

"What? What is it?" I asked.

Callie's hand nervously rubbed her shoulder as her eyes fell to her feet. "Callie is scared of the dark," Marie explained, "which is silly, because she's supposed to be an _adult_!"

"Don't be like that." I retorted. "Everyone's afraid of something."

"Not me," Marie replied. "I'm not afraid of anything. You don't seem to be afraid of much either, so I guess that just leaves one of us. I'd like to point out that Agent 3 is almost half your age and she's doing just fine, Callie. So grow up so we can finish this mission or whatever."

"I-I'm sorry." Callie stammered. "I d-d-don't think I c-can." My heart went out to her, truly. She looked as if she were about to cry.

"Do you _want_ Lusca to lose his sanity?!" Her cousin demanded.

"Of course not, but…"

"Then stop being a cry baby and get in the tunnel! Every second that passes is another step closer to him losing control again, and if you stop now then you may as well be saying that you don't care."

"That's not…"

"Look at it this way! If you 'love' him like you claim to, then you'll do it for him. It's as simple as that. Are you willing to put your own personal feelings aside to save his life? Because if you're not, then you don't really love him."

"That's enough, Marie!" I snapped, causing her eyes to widen in surprise. "Can't you see you're hurting her?" Tears had begun streaming down Callie's cheeks as her legs trembled beneath her. "I know you're concerned about me and I appreciate that, but don't take it out on Callie because you know that I don't love you!" There was an unsettling silence that drifted over the three of us. In Marie's eyes there were many emotions blended together. I could feel her rage and sorrow mixing inside of her and I kicked myself for not having seen it sooner. Even still, I couldn't stop myself as I clenched my fists. "You are not the only one here who is hurting! Do you think she doesn't know what's at stake here? She was listening to Captain's story, same as you!"

"Lusca, you don't have to…"

"No Callie! I'm not going to just let you get bullied into…"

"That's enough!" Callie snapped, causing me to wheel about in surprise. She sniffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "She's right, okay? You nearly killed yourself last time because we were in danger. The entire reason we're here is because you saved both of our lives while I did nothing. I can't do nothing again. We can't keep getting lucky. This isn't about whether or not I can be brave enough to go in the tunnel. It's about whether or not I can risk my life to save you."

"That is no one's fault," I argued. "You can't just be expected to make a big decision like that. I was forced to do what I did. We have other options now!"

She shook her head fervently, her tentacles swirling behind her head. "No, we don't. We've already almost lost you multiple times. Your sanity is weakening. What happens if you get to a point where even if we beat this thing, you don't come back? I can't bear the thought of that."

"Then get in the tunnels!" Marie interjected.

"Marie, I told you she doesn't have to…" BAM! Callie's fist slammed hard into me, sending me stumbling back. "Callie?"

"Give him back!" She snapped. "You're not Lusca, so give him back to me."

"Callie, I'm fine! I'm not going…" BAM! Another punch that brought me to my knees from the force. She wasn't holding back at all.

"You're lying!" Callie argued. "Lusca would never act like this! He wouldn't just let me give up on him because I was scared! The real Lusca would push me to be brave and tell me that I could do it. He wouldn't tell me to back out, ever! I don't know who or what you are, but you're not the man I love!" Turning away from me, she nodded to Marie. "Stay here and watch him. I'm not sure if he's back or not, but I'm going to go check the tunnels. Maybe Sheldon has something that can help us."

"Callie!" I called, but she turned and delivered a fierce kick to my jaw.

"If he tries to move again, take his gun and tie him up." She instructed, causing her cousin to nod in understanding. With that, she took a deep breath and transforming into a squid, she dove into the darkness.

After a few moments, Marie turned back to regard me. Sitting on the ground beside where I lay, she reached into her pack and pulled out a small square of fabric before pouring a foul smelling chemical on to it. "Hold still, you're bleeding" she instructed, moving her hand closer to place it against my cheek.

I let out a hiss as it touched my cut. "It burns."

"Don't be a baby," she argued, "it'll get infected if I don't clean it and the last thing I want is another person to visit in the hospital." As she pulled it away, she placed a small bandage over it. "There. I may not be a nurse, but I'm not too shabby at cleaning up a wound."

After a brief moment, I muttered, "Thanks."

"So, care to tell me what that was all about?"

"What?"

"That whole speech you gave. Look, I know that you're still all there right now, because insane Lusca would be talking to imaginary friends and blasting away with his gun. You're still lucid, so you may as well come clean."

"You let Callie beat the crap out of me, knowing that she was wrong?"

"Oh, she wasn't wrong," Marie yawned, "you're not acting like yourself. Besides, after all that shit talking, you deserved a good butt whooping. But don't try to change the subject. What's going on in that mantle of yours?"

"Look, you've been acting strange since we left the shack. You're upset about something and I'm just…"

"Worried that I'd take it out on my cousin?" she finished. "I suppose that's fair. It's not like I have a shining record of emotional stability." She lifted her hat off of her head, running her hand through her silver tentacles to slick them back. "Look, I'm not mad about you and her. Truth be told, I've been expecting it, remember?"

"Then, what is it?"

"You left me, Lusca."

"What?"

"I know that kiss supposedly didn't mean anything, but it doesn't change how a young woman's heart works. I'll be the first to admit that I genuinely enjoyed it and that for me it meant quite a bit. I fell asleep with you in my lap but when I woke up, you were just gone. You didn't even say goodbye or anything."

"I'm sorry, Marie. I wanted to let you sleep. I didn't think…"

She held up her hand, stopping me. "It's alright. You don't have to pretend to like me, Lusca. I can see it in your eyes. When Callie kissed you before we left, and told you she loved you, your eyes said you love her too. Not to mention that I've tried to kiss you a dozen times, and every time you've given me a lecture on why it would never work. But for her, you just let it happen. Like I've said before, she always gets the cute ones."

"I don't know," I teased, "Agent 3 is pretty cute. I think that counts."

"Shut up," Marie giggled. "Look, what I'm trying to say is...if you do end up changing your mind and you want to date Callie, don't worry about me. I've made my peace with it. So don't feel like you have to shelter me from my emotions. Even if we're not together, it's more important to me that I don't lose her...or you."

"Is it true what you said? About not being afraid of anything?"

"Of course not," She answered. "I'm afraid of losing my family, which sorry for you, includes yourself. What about you?"

"To be honest, this whole Cthulu business frightens me. How could Octavio do this to us? I can feel the insanity in the back of my mind, just slowly chipping away until it breaks through. Every time it's different. First I thought Callie and Gramps were monsters trying to kill me. Then I thought you two were plotting against me. Now I'm seeing children who aren't even there. It worries me because I can't help but wonder if any of this is real. Are you even actually here talking to me or are you and Callie both dead and I'm just sitting by your corpses rambling to myself? I'm not able to distinguish what's real or imaginary any more and that scares the absolute shit out of me."

Marie said nothing in reply. She just placed her hands in mine and gently kissed my cheek. I flashed her a reassuring smile, but my eyes couldn't help but to glance over her shoulder at the small and frightened girl from before, huddled in the corner and looking at me with her piercing violet eyes.

* * *

Callie's tentacles glowed slightly in the tunnel as she cautiously made her way through it. "This is for Lusca." She reminded herself, over and over again. Just then, a cockroach scurried across her foot, going towards her leg before she quickly brushed it off with a surprised squeal. "I hate the dark!" She cried out in frustration. Up ahead, however, she could see a faint golden light at the end of the tunnel. The exit!

She quickly ran towards it, taking in deep breaths as she worked to escape what she was certain was her worst nightmare given form. Reaching the exit, she burst through the tunnel, but instead of being back in Octo Valley, she was standing on a large round platform with waves crashing into the sides of it.

Around the edge were large stone pillars like one would see in an ancient parthenon. They were ornately carved, some of them still bearing the tops that bridged them together, while others were cracked and worn away. The most shocking thing, however were the two suns that stood high in the sky, illuminating a hooded figure dressed in bright yellow. Its robes were tattered, flowing on a breeze that Callie could not feel.

However, she reasoned, there must be one. For in the air, from seemingly far away, she could hear Marie's voice singing softly. The melody was absolutely haunting; certainly not a song the two of them had ever sang together. She began to panic, turning back to find the tunnel's entrance was gone as the words swirled around in her ears and her mind.

"Along the shore the cloud waves break,

The twin suns sink behind the lake,

The shadows lengthen

In Carcosa.

Strange is the night where black stars rise,

And strange moons circle through the skies,

But stranger still is

Lost Carcosa.

Songs that the Hyades shall sing,

Where flap the tatters of the King,

Must die unheard in

Dim Carcosa.

Song of my soul, my voice is dead,

Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed

Shall dry and die in

Lost Carcosa."

Swallowing nervously, she drew her roller, turning back to the figure that stood, unable to be seen beneath its flaxen hood. Stepping closer, the song continues to echo around her as the figure finally seems to take notice of her presence. Stepping closer to her, its gloved hands reach up and pull the hood back, revealing a nightmarish skull shaped as a pallid mask.

Something deep inside of Callie screams to her to run as fast and as far as she can, but she finds her legs are frozen in place. Looking down, the same marble that made up the stones had begun to climb her legs, transforming them before her eyes. Soon it was up to her waist, heading to her neck. She let out a blood curdling shriek before all fell silent, once again.

* * *

To be continued...


	15. Chapter 15

An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 15

 **Author's Note: Hey everyone! I know that a few of you aren't too fond of the Lovecraftian twist, but I'll do my best to still make it entertaining. It's only going to get stranger from here on, but eventually it'll come back full circle to normalcy. For now, I hope you all enjoy the chapters. Please feel free to favorite and review, I always love hearing feedback. Best of luck in life and literature. - Kiba**

I soon fell silent, my eyes locked with the small girl's as she extended her arms outward. She was begging for me to approach, to embrace her and hold her close. My heart began to pound in my chest as I found myself unable to tear my gaze from her violet eyes. "Lusca?" Marie asked, resting her hand on my shoulder. "Are you alright?"

In truth, Marie was hesitant to strike me again, but if I were to do something dangerous, she'd have no choice but to knock me out for our shared safety. "I see her." I murmured, grasping to my lucidity with every ounce of will I had. "I see the young girl from before, she's sitting over there, in the corner." With a trembling hand, I gestured to her.

"What is she doing?" Agent 2 asked. "Is she trying to attack you?"

With a deep inhalation, I shook my head. "She's calling to me. Well, in a sense. She doesn't speak, but her arms are outstretched like she's asking for a hug. For some reason, when I look at her, I can feel large amounts of fear, but at the same time…" I paused, seeking the words to explain. "The feelings are alien to me. I don't think they are my own."

I began to stand to walk towards her. Marie was up, about to attack me but I slowly took off my gun and set it on the ground. Every step I took towards the girl, caused me to notice even more details. She was beautiful, stunningly so. She seemed to tremble as I approached. "Lusca, be careful." Marie warned, ready to grab me at a moment's notice. It wouldn't be necessary.

"What's your name?" I asked, but she gave no response. Instead I felt the fear beginning to subside from my mind a little. "My name is Lusca. Can you say 'Lusca'?" Still she remained eerily silent. I was just within arm's reach now. I could see her face clearly, her purple and viridian tentacles now stretching out as well of their own accord.

Suddenly, a shrill scream echoed up from the tunnels, snapping me to my senses as the vision of the young girl vanished once more. I recognized the scream immediately. Callie was in danger! "Marie!"

"I heard it too." She called back, scooping up my gun and tossing it to me. Quickly sliding down the ladder, I found myself running through the dark corridor to find the woman we'd sent there. My hand blindly trailed along the brick masonry as I searched desperately for any sign of her.

"Callie!" I shouted, but all I heard in response was my own echo. "Where are you?!" Still, there came no reply. I couldn't see a thing in the darkness, but as I heard footsteps behind me, I turned to be greeted by a nearly blinding blue light that lit up the tunnels ahead of us.

I was shocked to see that the source was Marie as she rushed past me. "Lusca, come on! We can't just stand around." She began to run faster, and I quickly followed after her.

It wasn't much time later that the dark black tentacles of Callie emerged in the light, still glowing a faint pink. Her light wasn't nearly as bright as Marie's. "Callie?" I called in concern, placing my hand on her shoulder. Again, she didn't respond, but slowly turned to regard the both of us. Over her face was an ivory mask, and through it I could see shimmering golden eyes. However, these were not her's.

"Callie, what happened?" Marie asked, approaching her. Could she not see the mask that she wore. "Are you alright?" Her hands reached out to touch her, but with an unnatural strength, Callie grabbed her wrist, squeezing tight enough to bring her to her knees. "Callie, stop! You're hurting me!" Her cousin wailed, trying to break free from her grip.

The entire time, her eyes did not leave mine. Behind the mask, a distorted voice spoke to us both. "You will not lay hands upon the Queen." The voice was hypnotic and mesmerising, as if thousands of angels were speaking all at once.

"Marie, apologize." I instructed her quickly.

"Apologize? For what?"

"For attempting to lay hands on the Queen."

"The what?" She looked up at her cousin stunned. No words had been spoken, but still she felt like her hand was about to burst from the amount of pressure her cousin was putting on her wrist. Marie attempted to transform so she could pull away, but her body wouldn't change. She began to feel very afraid.

"Marie, do it!"

"I'm sorry! I won't touch the Queen!" She quickly blurted, causing Callie to release her death grip on her. Marie nursed her severely bruised hand as I stepped between her and the alien figure that had possessed the older popstar.

"Who are you?" I questioned bluntly. "What have you done with Callie?"

Her eyes shimmered in recognition of the question, looking first to Marie behind me, then back to me. "You have heard my voice?" She inquired, dodging my question. "That is...unexpected." The last word came out as a throaty coo that sent shivers through my tentacles.

"Please, answer the question."

"Very well. My name is Camilla, heir to the throne of Carcosa and sister to Cassilda." For the first time since she'd grabbed Marie, she began to move, circling the two of us with what appeared as an insatiable desire. "And you, Bearer of the Yellow Mark? What is your name?"

"Lusca. Where is Callie?"

"Lusca…" She whispered, seemingly to herself as she tested it on her tongue. "Lusca. A fine name, indeed. Well, Lusca...do not fret. I have indeed seen and met your friend."

"I gathered."

"I see you have brought along another. What is her name?" My eyes went to Marie who shook her head desperately.

"Lusca, whatever she's telling you to do, you have to fight it. You can't let her…" There was a thunderous clap as the back of the Camilla's hand struck Marie hard enough to knock her to the floor in a heap.

"That's enough," I snarled, standing between them. "Queen or no Queen, you are not to lay a hand on her again!"

The masked Callie tilted her head in thought for a moment before slowly nodding. "Very well. I will forgive any disrespects that she makes. I am a merciful Queen, after all." Somehow, I doubted that was the actual case.

"I won't ask you again, where is Callie?"

I could feel the slight smile emanating from the creature in front of me. "Would you like me to show you?" She asked.

I took a deep breath, looking to Marie nervously. "She says she can show us where Callie is."

"What are you talking about, Lusca? Callie is right there!"

I glanced at the mask once more, just a horrendous realization struck me. "Marie, that's not Callie…" I muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"That's not a mask." I began to tremble. Just what was this thing?

"An astute observation." The woman cackled. "My offer still stands. I can show you to your friend if you like."

"Why did you take her?"

"I did nothing of the sort," she replied with a derisive 'hmmph'. "It is not in the nature of a Queen to kidnap a peasant. Although…" Her eyes scanned me up and down, "there is a first time for everything."

"Take us to Callie." I requested, causing another smug sensation to flow from Camilla. Without a word, she brushed past the both of us, walking with a seductive sway in her hips further down the tunnel. Taking Marie's hand, I helped her to her feet and the two of us began to follow the Queen.

"What did she say?" Marie asked in a hoarse whisper. I could feel her entire body shaking in my grasp. "Where's Callie?"

A dozen voices echoed in my mind, over and over again. "Carcosa," I answered. "She's in Carcosa, isn't she?" The Queen looked at me over her shoulder.

"Indeed she is. I see you too can hear the voices of my siblings. You must be very strong willed. For anyone else, you would have collapsed into a gibbering mess under the weight of the Crest of Carcosa."

"The what?"

"You do not know? It is the symbol carved into your chest. I imagine that means you have run into one of my many cousins. Pray tell, I am curious as to which one you've met."

"Do you mean that little girl that I saw? The one with purple and green tentacles."

The Queen immediately came to a halt. "That's the one you saw?" She demanded, for the first time raising her voice. "That's not possible!" Even the Queen seemed to be afraid now. Just who was this little girl? "Come, we must hurry! We will be safer in Carcosa." She began to run down the tunnel now, the two of us following after her, despite Marie's desperate confusion.

Sure enough, every now and then, the little girl would apparate within Agent 2's light, always staring straight at me with arms and tentacles outstretched. It seemed like no matter how fast we ran, she always was ahead of us. But soon, a brilliant light filled the tunnel and as Marie and I vanished through it, we found ourselves standing on a gigantic platform with crumbled pillars and broken buildings. "Where are we?" Marie gasped.

The woman spoke, causing Marie to jump. "Welcome to the ruins of the once great Carcosa." She explained, her arms outstretched wide. "This was once my father's domain, until the day that he was slain by his half-brother. Since then, the Kingdom was passed down to me and my sister, Cassilda."

The two of us stared around in awe. This world was so foreign, so strange. I wasn't even sure we were on Earth anymore. Up above us, two blackened suns hung in the sky, dimly illuminating everything with an ominous light. That was when my eyes rested on the horrified visage of Callie. "Callie!" I cried, running towards her.

"Wait, Lusca that's just a statue!" Marie called after me, before the realization struck her. "Oh no...no, no, no."

I stood before the marble figure of Callie, throwing my arms around her and hugging her tightly. "Callie, I'm so sorry." I cried, my tears streaming down my face. "I should have been stronger. If I'd gone down the pipe instead of you, I'd be the one trapped in stone."

Marie leveled her weapon towards Camilla, her eyes boiling with fury and rage. "You! You did this! You just made a grave mistake killing my cousin. I may not be able to bring her back, but I can sure as Hell put you in the ground beside her."

"She was not the one who did this." Another voice explained, a hand extending to push the barrel of her weapon to the ground. "And I'd appreciate if you didn't point your weapon at my sister." Beside her, there was an almost exact replica of herself, save that this Marie had a mask on her face akin to the one on Camilla.

"Hello, dearest Cassilda." The Queen greeted her sister with a bow. "Thank you for showing yourself to our guests."

"They are here for the trespasser?"

"Indeed. Apparently she is dear to the Bearer."

Her eyes widened behind her mask as she examined me where I stood. "This is the Bearer? Now that I think about it, his resemblance is uncanny."

"Change her back." I begged, holding on to her even tighter. "Please, turn her back!"

Cassilda chuckled as she walked closer to me. "I'm afraid, your Highness, that is not possible."

"Highness?" I snapped.

"Yes. After all, you are destined to marry my dear sister. Did she not inform you as such? The Crest of Carcosa is a high honor indeed. It marks you as the next leader of our fair city. What's left of it anyway."

"I don't want to be the leader of your damned city," I snarled, "I want Callie back."

Cassilda tsked. "We can't very well have another woman with your heart, now can we? It would be unbefitting of a King to be unfaithful to his wife. Besides, I'm sure you've noticed by now that these two are very similar to us."

"Why? What's the point of that?!"

She grinned once more beneath her features. "It's really quite simple. You may view your world as the only one, but in fact there are many. An innumerable amount of stars, each with their own reality and laws. In your reality, we are called Callie and Marie. In this reality we are Camilla and Cassilda. If you love Callie, you should have no problems loving Camilla." Running her hand through the silver tentacles on her head, she looked towards her doppelganger. "And just to prove that we're not completely heartless, we'll bestow you with a gift." Holding up her hands, Marie suddenly felt a cold chill forming beneath her feet. She tried to pull away to see that the marble was now ascending her.

"We shall preserve them forever." Camilla explained. "This way, even if you miss them you may always visit them here in the courtyard."

"Stop!" I demanded, running to try to pull Marie out. "Stop it, now! I'm the King right? So I order you to stop!"

"You are not the King until you've married my sister." Cassilda pointed out. "Even then, you are still only the Bearer of the Mark. Camilla will still hold the power in Carcosa."

"Damn it!" I cried, as Marie began to panic, struggling more.

"Lusca, help me!" She wept, tears starting to roll down her now stone cheeks as I tugged and pulled with all my might.

"Marie, hold on. Please!" I begged, until the very last of her tentacles was now made of stone. I fell to my knees defeated. I couldn't save her. I couldn't save my two best friends in the world and now...they were stuck here forever. What would I tell the Captain? What could I tell him? "You...bitch!" I snapped, turning immediately to Cassilda. "You killed them! You killed both of them and I'm going to make you pay!"

I ran towards her, fist cocked back as I went to punch her with every ounce of strength that I had. But holding out her hand, she simply flicked her finger, sending me soaring back to land with a thud. I was up again in a blink, running at her with everything I had. "You are wasting your time, sire. I think it would be best if we prepared for your wedding."

"You can take your wedding and shove it right...up...your…!" I snarled, lashing out over and over again, despite that Cassilda just stood there as if she felt none of my blows. With a quick strike, she sent me flying once again to land with a pant.

"If it will help you, my liege. I suppose I can indulge you in this battle. You won't be able to hurt me and it'll be good for you to get out all of those silly feelings and energy. All the better to focus your attentions on my sister."

Camilla watched with mild amusement as I tried time and time again to land a blow on Cassilda, each time she knocked me back with only a minimum effort. Just as she'd predicted, my energy was running low. I was starting to struggle to stand back up again. "Come now Sister," Camilla sighed, "must you really torture the poor man? Just smash the statues and get it over with. Perhaps when he sees that there truly is no stance, he'll be more co-operative."

"NO!" I boomed, just as Cassilda smirked, drawing back her hand and turning towards Callie. Before she could, however, a quick purple blur flew past my vision, sending her hurtling back. It was the girl from before. Was she from Carcosa as well? Glancing at me over her shoulder, I saw she still looked the same as she had in my visions. She wore no mask, but still she did not speak.

Cassilda stood, wiping a bit of deep yellow blood from her lip where the young girl had struck her. "Cousin." She noted, as Camilla stepped forward as well, taking a fighting stance of her own. "Come to finish your father's job? I'm afraid it will not be so easy."

Turning to look at me again, two of her tentacles reached out, touching Callie and Marie on the forehead. The marble that encased them began to crack, and for a moment I feared that the little girl had only quickened their demise, until as chip by chip fell from them, the two Inklings began to reappear. She'd saved them!

Suddenly, the arena was a blur of purple, pink, and green. The three beings seemed to be fighting everywhere and yet, nowhere at once. I quickly ran to the two girls. Colored streaks in my vision deflecting off one another all around me, but unable to get even close to myself or the other two.

"Lusca?" Callie yawned, rubbing her eyes. "I'm really sleepy. What happened?"

"He carried me to my bed last time, Callie. Do you think he could carry both of us? I'm sleepy too." As her eyes looked up at me, more tears began to fall. Before either of them could react, I threw my arms around both of them, drawing them both close to me.

"What's this for?" Callie wondered, as I nuzzled against them both.

"I was scared I'd lost you both forever." I whispered. "Right now we have a friend fighting the twin terrors. We need to get out of here, fast."

"Carcosa." Callie suddenly uttered, seeming to have remembered where she was again. "I couldn't find an exit last time. But then that woman petrified me. Did you rescue us, Lusca? If you did it would really stink. That means I'd have to go down another tunnel again."

Squeezing her tightly, I leaned closer to her ear as Marie stroked my back reassuringly. "Callie, I…"

Suddenly, there was a loud crash as Cassilda slammed through one of the pillars, hurtling into the waves of the lake around the platform. Just as other Inklings, her body struggled to stay afloat, just as a massive tentacle stretched upward, ensnaring her and pulling her beneath the waves.

What little there was left of Carcosa began to crumble and fall around us, spurts of water racing upward through the platform like geysers. It was then that I could see the tunnel once more. I was not the only one. "There, go!" Marie cried, and the three of us quickly began to flee from the foreign kingdom.

Just as we made it through the portal, the violet blur that was the small girl hurtled straight towards us. Just as the portal began to close she leapt outward. Instinctively, I opened my arms catching her mid air. "Are you okay?" I asked, as the small child eagerly clung to me. She nodded, staying completely quiet before I set her down.

"Lusca, who is this? She's such a cutie." Callie asked. She smiled at the little girl, reaching out to rustle her tentacles before the girl let out a frightened chirp and hid behind me. "Oh…"

"It's okay." I assured the girl. "That's Callie, and that's Marie. They're not like those other two. They're friends." The girl looked up at me quizzically. The fear she'd instilled in me before now felt almost like one would feel about a family member. It was an odd sensation to be sure. "Callie, Marie...this is the little girl I saw in the shop."

Both of the popstars were stunned speechless. They couldn't believe the things that were happening, and I knew it was only a matter of time before one of us cracked. Just as I expected, Marie just kind of chuckled it off. "Well… you know, maybe this old sewer system has some kind of hallucinogenic gas. I mean...that explains what happened, right?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but Callie quickly agreed. "Yeah. This poor girl is probably seeing all sorts of crazy things right now. I mean, the poor thing is trembling she's so scared." The child seemed to be enjoying this 'game'.

"Listen, I don't know what to think of what happened, but it was very real."

"Lusca, you would say that." Callie pointed out. "That curse you have on you is making you insane. I mean, if we could just redraw that symbol Gramps used." As she reached up to touch my forehead, immediately the little girl jumped between us, her tentacles splaying out menacingly. Immediately, Callie drew back her hand with a surprised squeak.

I gently placed my hands on the little girl's shoulders. "Listen to me. It happened, and thanks to this one we managed to all get out. I already almost lost both of you once. I don't want it to happen again. That being said, I think we should stick together from now on. No more going off on our own."

Marie let out an exasperated groan. "Great, more kids to babysit. Do we at least get a name for her?"

"Do you have a name?" I asked the little girl. She thought about it for a moment, her mouth opening to speak, before she thought better of it. "Well, what would you like us to call you?" In my mind resounded a language similar to the one I'd heard in my nightmares. "Ygoff'nn?" I asked puzzled, causing her to nod. "We'll need an easier name to pronounce than that. Any ideas?"

She seemed to consider the question once more before drawing a strange series of symbols in the muck that clung to the wall.

Staring at the script made my head hurt, but I could barely make out some letters. "Sil?" I tried, prompting her to nod again. Callie and Marie, however, grit their teeth as they quickly turned from the words. Walking to it, I wiped it off the muck and immediately they looked relieved.

"Ow." Callie whimpered, rubbing her temples. "What was that stuff she wrote?"

"If I had to guess? R'lyehian. It looked like the words I saw in the nightmares before my curse started to affect me when I was awake." I explained.

I could tell that Marie was not pleased by this prospect. Pulling me by the hand, she whispered in my ear. "Do you really think we can trust her, Lusca? I mean, you saw what she did to those...those...things! And you couldn't even touch them! I have a bad feeling about this."

I looked over my shoulder to see Callie making silly faces as the little girl just stoically watched. She seemed to only smile when she was around me, which meant that she was probably connected to the Crest of Carcosa as well. Maybe that was why Cassilda and Camilla called her cousin. Was she also Carcosan? She didn't look like it. "Me too. But we can't just leave her here. Don't forget she saved our lives in there. Had it not been for her, I'd be married to interdimensional version of Callie with a ceramic face and you two would be a pile of rubble."

Marie sighed. "I suppose so. But still...keep an eye on her Lusca. I'm not sure if I trust her just yet."

I nodded in understanding. "Let's go find Shelldon. The portal's closed and it looks like the exit's just ahead. On the plus side, I don't think I'm going insane any more."

As I began to walk off, Sil turned from Callie and ran after me, giggling as she extended her arms upward in a request to be carried. I looked at her, unsure of how to respond, but the feelings of joy she instilled broke my resolve. Lifting her in my arms, she climbed on to my shoulders before situating herself.

"Why doesn't she like me?" Callie asked her cousin, watching as Sil and I proceeded through the tunnels.

"I don't think it's personal. Be careful around her Callie. She may look like a little girl, but don't forget she nearly made Lusca swan dive to his death. She's not a normal kid or squid. I think Lusca has baby fever. He's blinded by her charms." She sighed, heading towards the exit as well, with Callie trailing behind.

"She is pretty cute." She giggled, causing her cousin to shoot her a stern glare. "What? She is. Besides, look at him." Marie's eyes lifted to see me and Sil giggling with one another. "When was the last time you saw Lusca look so happy?"

"Never. Come to think of it, I don't think Lusca has ever really been happy with us."

Callie grinned. "Well...I think that everything is going to change after this."

"Yeah." Marie agreed solemnly. "Probably so." She'd told me that it didn't bother her that he liked Callie, but if she was honest with herself she was jealous. It wasn't that it was unexpected, but still...she would have liked to win just once.

A strange thought occurred to Marie at that time. What if they hadn't manage to find Camilla? Would Callie have been gone forever? Surprisingly, the thought didn't make her upset. If Callie was gone, I would have no one else to care about, except for Marie. Part of her wished that her cousin had stayed in Carcosa. Then, she knew, she'd be the one to get the guy for once.

As Callie began to walk ahead of her, cheerfully following after Lusca and being swatted at by Sil, Marie's hand wrapped around her gun, silently drawing it. It would be so easy. All it would take was one squeeze of the trigger and Callie would be gone. She'd be able to make any number of excuses: it slipped. She was cleaning it but it accidentally went off. She saw Callie drawing her weapon to shoot Lusca, after all who knew how long she was stuck in Carcosa. How did they even know it was the real Callie?

Ink began to flood through the tank as Marie's eyes shimmered an envious green. A wry grin crossed her lips as she began to take aim. Her cousin was in her sights now, the swaying black tentacles doing little to avoid her. She realized, ironically, that this was the exact position Lusca had her in when they'd first met if he hadn't had his line cut. How different things would have been if he'd actually killed Callie before Marie captured him.

This was finally it! Marie would finally be free from the binding chains that her older cousin placed on her. No longer would she have to clean up messes because of her naivety. Never again would she have to share the stage while everyone oohed and aahed at her sugar and spice act. Marie wouldn't be the bitchy one anymore; she'd be the _only_ one! "Sorry 'sister'," she muttered, "but this time, you won't be coming back."

She took a deep breath, braced herself, and pulled the trigger.

To be continued...


	16. Chapter 16

An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 16

Steph looked up in horror as a giant ink strike raced in her direction. Moving as fast as her body could swim through her ink, there was a huge whirlwind just behind her. This was the first time she'd ever encountered an Octarian Bomber, and it was not a pushover like some of the other forces she'd run into along the way.

She lay low in her ink, not daring to budge even an inch for risk for the ripples giving off her location. Sure enough, that's when a cleaner began to suck up the ink that rested on the ground and it was heading right for her! Her body trembled with exhaustion. She'd never done so much in such a short span before. She began to wonder if she even _could_ handle the next war machine.

She had to keep moving, if she waited any longer the bomber would see her as a sitting target and she wouldn't have an ink trail to swim through. With a splurge of Ink, she quickly flooded the path and once more, the familiar whistle of the inkstrike could be heard hot on her heels.

Diving once more into the ink, she slid along her back down the slope, gun blasting wildly as she took out Octarians one after another. This is just a more dangerous Turf War, she repeated to herself, over and over again. You're not killing them, they're just going back to their base.

She knew this was a lie, but it was the only thing that really brought her comfort from the nightmares of the things she'd seen after the strange old man introduced her to the underground war. Reaching the end of her ink, she continued her full sprint towards the source of the repeated missiles.

Up above her, on a giant platform, an incredibly overweight Octarian sat in a tub of its own ink. On its face was a pair of goggles that seemed to be able to lock on to her position. Blasting open an ink pipe, she quickly allowed it to propel her up and on to the platform.

The thing was absolutely hideous now that she could see it up close. It had no decency at all, simply laying there scratching itself without a single thread of clothing. Staring at her through the dark reticule, it licked its lips. Agent 3 shuddered at the action, but she knew she wasn't done yet. She had to finish him off.

Holding her gun pointed straight at him, it raised its hands. Was it surrendering? Before she could open her mouth to speak, its tentacle slammed down beside it and released a splash of the deadly ink.

Steph barely managed to leap out of the way as the place she had been standing now became covered with the ink. So that's how he wanted to play then? Steph had no problems with playing dirty. She fired rapidly at the disgusting blob of flesh, but because of the tub, it could easily just wash the ink off before it had a chance to do any harm, all while casting more waves of violet death in her direction.

After the fourth attempt, a particularly well aimed swipe from his massive arm caused her upper shoulder to sizzle. She quickly spat on her shoulder, cleaning the ink from her and simultaneously cooling her burns. This was getting old now.

The Bomber laughed heartily at her struggles and it was then that she knew exactly what she had to do. Running straight towards him, his eyes opened in shock as she plummeted straight down on to his belly.

She slammed the barrel down his throat and fired full blast into him. With a hiss, his eyes rolled back as the caustic-like Ink liquified his insides before with a pop, he exploded in Squid Ink, leaving Steph standing waist deep in a tub of her own now. "Lusca?" She panted into the radio, only to hear silence. "Hello?" She tried once more, but again there was no sound.

Looking around to determine she was truly safe, she set her gun down on the lip of the pool beside her before taking out her radio to examine it. Had it become damaged in his last attack? It seemed fine.

Suddenly it crackled loudly, causing her to nearly drop it into the pool in a panic. Soon, however, a voice she was not familiar with broke through the channel. "It's been a long time…"

Then the Captain's voice spoke back. "No! It's you...it can't be...stay away!"

"Captain!" Steph cried into the microphone as the sounds of an ensuing struggle could be heard. Then with a sickening thud, the radio went silent. "Captain…?" Her voice was a whimper as she desperately prayed he was alright.

"Listen carefully, whoever you may be." The new voice informed her. "Captain Cuttlefish is alive...for now. You will abandon your mission and return back to whatever hole you crawled out of...or else." With a loud crackle, her commlink went to static.

For the first time in her life, Steph found herself truly afraid. Even when her parents screamed at one another long enough that she was certain one of them would finally snap and kill the other, even when facing down hordes of Octolings, even when standing up to an Octarian war machine, nothing compared to the dread she felt in her hearts now.

Taking out her radio, she attempted to hail the other agents, but something was interfering with the signal. She let out a frightened whine as she sank back into the ink. She wanted to go home. She wanted to be back in her bed, safe and warm. But inside, she knew that that wasn't what she should do. She had to help rescue the Captain, because by making her Agent 3, he had rescued her.

* * *

Marie took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. Time moved in slow motion and the instant the ink left the barrel she realized what she'd done. She opened her mouth to call to her cousin, but in a blur of purple and green, Sil leapt from my shoulders, interposing herself in between Callie and the Ink.

The younger popstar watched in horror as the young girl became coated in the highly corrosive ink, only for her body to remain unharmed. What the hell was going on?! "Sil!" I shouted, turning to look back at her, only to see her covered in ink. "Marie? What happened?!"

"I...was cleaning...and then…" Her words struggled to escape her lips. Whatever excuses she'd formulated before died on them with the dual realization that she'd come very close to murdering her cousin and that Sil was, with absolute certainty, not a mortal thing.

Callie and I failed to notice, however, the dishonesty in her words. "Marie, you should really be more careful," her cousin lectured gently. "I'm glad that Sil was there, otherwise I could have been seriously hurt, or worse!"

"I...I'm sorry…" Marie tried, choking back sobs as she fell to her knees. Tears were streaming down her cheeks now. She couldn't believe that this place had affected her so greatly. It was giving a burning in her chest that was akin to rage and hatred, but at the same time, she could hear her own thoughts struggling to make their way to the forefront of her consciousness. Frustrated, she threw down her gun, burying her head in her knees. "Sorry...I just need a moment. You three go on ahead," she whispered. "I'll be right behind you."

Her cousin reluctantly obliged when I gave her an assuring nod, taking the now dried off Sil by the hand and leading her towards the exit. I, however, didn't budge an inch. "She's gone now," I stated. "Care to tell me what really happened?"

Her eyes sank to the floor as she drew her knees closer to her chest again. "I guess I can't hide anything from you," she murmured. "I don't know what happened. I was just compelled by...something. It told me things. How Callie was the only thing between me and being happy. How much easier it would be if my life didn't have her in it."

Leaning against the wall behind her, I sank down next to her. "I suppose in a way, I could see that point of view."

Marie looked at me in shock. "Lusca! How can you even say something like that?" Her teeth were clenched. "I thought you loved her, and now you're just telling me that I should have killed her?"

"Drop the accusatory tone, Marie. I never said that. I said I could see your argument in that your life would be easier, possibly even better, without Callie in it." My hand went to hers, squeezing it to comfort her. "But that wouldn't bring you happiness. Without her, you're nothing Marie."

She quickly pulled her hand away. "What are you saying?!" Reaching beside me, I grasped her gun, holding her outstretched hand in mine and placing it in her palm. Her eyes widened as she stared down at the thing.

"You know what you have to do," I whispered. "It's the only way you'll ever truly be happy."

Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked back at me then returning her gaze to the gun. Her entire body was trembling. "Is it fast?"

"Possibly. Even if it's not, you'd deserve such for how you felt. You tried to kill her Marie. You can't get away from that, even if you wanted to."

The inklings hand trembled as she opened her mouth, slipping the barrel into press against her inner roof. Already there was a slight burning sensation as a drop of ink sizzled against the sensitive flesh. My hand once more rested on hers, slowly helping her to pull the trigger.

* * *

"Marie, no!" I shouted, turning away from Sil and pouncing on the younger Inkling. Her eyes shot open to see the illusory double of me and she began to wrestle with it, desperately trying to remove the gun from where it had been placed.

"L-lusca, help." She begged around the weapon, her entire body shaking as she tried to regain control from the mental tailspin she'd been cast into. Callie turned in shock to see what was going on and began to rush towards us as well.

Sliding beside her, I quickly grabbed her wrist and flicked on the gun's safety before pulling it forcefully from her mouth. Her body struggled against mine with more strength than I'd ever seen Marie display, as if her entire being was dedicated to preventing her rescue. "Marie, what are you doing? What's wrong?" Her cousin asked, pinning the young popstar's wrist as she struggled to break free from our grip to continue her self-destruction.

"She can't control herself," I mumbled to her, racking my brain for a solution. "Marie, I'm really sorry about this."

She looked at me, hopelessly lost, just as my forearm pressed against her throat, choking her. "Lusca, what are you doing?!" Callie demanded, releasing her hand to try to pull mine away.

"Callie, stop! If she passes out, we can carry her out of the tunnels safely," I explained, causing her to hesitate.

"She's terrified Lusca, I don't like this."

"Trust me, this is for the best."

Marie gasped for breath, using her one free hand to desperately press against my face in an attempt to shove me away. There was horror on her features as her hand then moved above her, as if clawing at something. It was a gesture I'd seen before.

"What is she doing?" Callie asked.

Soon, her eyes closed and as she fell limp, I quickly grabbed her gun from her and tucked it into my holster before hoisting her in my arms. I didn't like this. We needed to get out of here as soon as we possibly could. I didn't know if it was the tunnels or if it was something else entirely, but it was going to end up killing one of us and my money was it doing so sooner rather than later.

"Callie, there's something I need to tell you. Marie made me swear not to, but this is important. This place is feeding on our darkest feelings and emotions, which means it's only just a matter of time before you succumb to it as well."

Sil peered over my arm into Marie's dozing face curiously. "Lusca, I'm scared." Callie whispered, holding onto my other arm. "Just please, tell me what's going on?"

"The night that you were shot, when I went out to look for Marie...she wasn't in a good state when I found her." I looked at her out of the side of my eyes, gently pressing against her. "She was going to hang herself, Callie. To be specific, she _was_ hanging herself. I managed to catch her before she could die, which is why I had to cut off one of my tentacles."

"Why would she ever do that?" Her voice was barely above a whisper as she struggled to understand.

I took a deep breath. This was the part that I knew would hurt Callie the most. "It was because she felt guilty about what happened to you. She blamed herself, rather than me, that you became hurt. She wanted to kill herself because she thought it would make everyone's life easier if she were gone."

"That's not true!" Callie demanded, her grip tightening. "The world would definitely be worse without her, I know it!"

"I know, Callie," I assured her. "I'm only telling you this so you can understand what was happening. Something is controlling us like puppets. They're using our own fears and desires against us. I suspect that Marie tried to shoot you because of this as well."

"But...she said she was cleaning it…"

"Open your eyes, Callie!" The harshness of my tone made her flinch. "Now is not the time to be cute or naive, now is the time to be afraid. Be very, very, afraid because starting from the moment that we stepped foot in this place, we have surrendered control of our very beings to a kid sitting on an anthill and we're under the magnifying glass. So cut the act because it's not funny anymore!"

"Is that what you really think? That how I am is just some act?"

"Callie…"

"No! You can't just say things like that and expect me to let it go! I'm not smart like Marie or strong like you, but that doesn't mean that I'm some airhead just playing dumb for attention! How could you even insinuate that?"

Sil walked over to move between Callie and I, causing the dark-tentacled singer to surrender some space from me. "Sil, we were talking." I lectured.

"It's fine," Callie growled. "Once we're out of this cave, then we'll find out if that's what you truly think. If it is…" She left the thought dangling there, unwilling to finish it.

Sil looked between the both of us before tugging on my shit. "Y'gnaiih." Her voice echoed in my head. What did that mean? She looked at me, waiting patiently for a response.

"What's Y'gnaiih?" I asked, causing Callie to watch me suspiciously. Sil said nothing, simply raising her hand to point at me. "Oh, I'm Y'gnaiih?" She nodded her head. "Okay, what's wrong Sil? Do you know something that can help us?

She thought about it for a moment before shaking her head no. Instead, she ran her arms around her midriff, letting out a pitiful whimper. Callie's features softened at the sound, gently running her hand along her tentacles. Surprisingly, this time she didn't snap away or hiss. "Poor thing," Callie murmured. "It looks like she has a tummy ache. Is that what you're trying to tell us, Sil?"

She nodded, clutching her stomach again. "Damn it. Things just keep getting worse for us," I commented just as we emerged from the tunnel back into the gracious light. I'd never been so grateful to get out of the dark in my life.

I could tell by the way she sighed in relief that Callie felt the same way. "Let's take a break, please? I know that we're kind of in a hurry, but…" Her eyes scanned each member of our party one after another. "I think we could all use a short rest, don't you agree?"

As much as I wanted to keep moving, I nodded. "Yeah. Maybe Sil will feel better after a little nap. I'll try to get ahold of Shelldon. Maybe he can meet us here instead."

"Thanks." Callie still couldn't look me in the eye from our argument. I suppose it wasn't very surprising. I shouldn't have treated her like I did, I knew. I could always use the excuse that it was the tunnels that caused my cruelty, but inside, I wasn't entirely sure it was.

Taking Marie from my hands, I watched the beautiful Inkling sit on the cool pavement with her cousin and Sil. She ran her hands through both of their tentacles absently before looking puzzled. Turning her hand over, she pressed the back against Sil's forehead.

Touching the radio to my ear, I tried to contact the Captain. "Hello, Captain? If you're there we need to talk. A lot of weird shit is going down here. We're all safe...for now. I need you to contact Shelldon and tell him to meet us. I have my point locator set to broadcast to his location, so I just need you to let him know."

When there was no response, a feeling of concern washed over me. I looked back towards Callie in shock as she looked up at me with an equal amount of worry. "Lusca, Sil's sick. She has a fever."

"Like I said, things keep getting worse. Captain isn't answering his radio."

"Try Agent 3."

I nodded in agreement, paging her. "Agent 3?"

"Yes?"

I was surprised by how cute her voice was. She sounded somber, but somehow it was different than what our group was feeling. "It's Lusca. Our party is taking a little breather. We haven't been able to get in contact with Cap'n Cuttlefish. Have you spoken to him?"

There was a moment of unnerving silence through the radio. "Someone took him," she finally answered.

My jaw dropped as I tried to formulate a response. We were completely on our own now. We didn't have an eye in the sky, or a mission leader, or anything. Our King had been captured and this was checkmate.

"Now what?" Callie questioned.

Oh no. What could I possibly tell her? How would Marie react when she finally woke up to hear the news? "Agent 3 has informed me that Captain Cuttlefish has been captured."

"Gramps?!"

I nodded. Callie sank to her knees in surrender as she just stared at the ground. "The good news is, I'm pretty sure he's alive," I tried, hoping it would cheer her up.

"Pretty sure? My Grandfather has been 'captured' by someone we don't even know, and you're 'pretty sure' he's alive?! How much is 'pretty sure'? Do you have some sort of empirical evidence that I don't know about, because last I checked 'pretty sure' was code for, I don't know shit!" Her voice boomed, echoing across the square before I quickly covered her mouth.

"Callie, hush. I know you're upset, but we are _still_ in Octovalley. If we get caught, and we will if you don't get yourself in check, they will kill us. All of us. We'll get back your Gramps, I swear it. All right?"

"Lusca, what is going on?" She asked after I had removed my hand.

"I don't know," I admitted. "Maybe this is Cthulu's work."

No sooner had I finished the sentence that Sil let out a low moan, clutching her stomach tightly. "Lusca, we need to get her to a doctor." Callie stated. "Surely there is someone down here that won't judge us?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm sorry to say, there isn't. Let me see if I can find Sheldon by myself. You stay here with Sil and Marie. I'm sure he'll be able to help us. The faster we're done here the faster we can get out of this crazy place and back to our slightly more normal life."

"Did you just…"

I paused curiously. "What is it?"

"You said, 'our life'."

I bit my lip nervously. "Do we really have to do this now?" I asked, a hint of urgency in my voice.

She solemnly shook her head. "No, you're right. It can wait until you're back, okay? But I do want to talk about this."

I sighed. "Yeah...I know you do." Turning away from her, I tugged up my coat and began to make my way through the square to locate the young crab.

* * *

Peering closer through his spectacles, Sheldon let out a frustrated grunt and began to hurl more of the scrap over his shoulder to clatter on the ground behind him. This was getting out of hand now. Where could his Grandfather have hidden it?

Drawing out the letter he'd received from his 'Grandpappy' before he died, Sheldon scanned its contents once more. It stated that the weapon they used to destroy Cthulhu was hidden somewhere down in the old Octovalley warehouse. There was a slight chirp from behind him as his self-designed sensors began to ping someone in their proximity.

In a blur, he'd spun, drawing his weapon and aiming it straight between the eyes of the stunned Octoling. "Whoa, whoa! Please, don't shoot!" She cried, holding up her hands and stumbling backwards.

"I won't shoot so long as you don't try to attack me," Sheldon swore, his hand trembling as he continued to look for the weapon. The truth was, save in Turf Wars, Sheldon had never shot a gun before. When you were just playing around in ink, it was different, but for him...this was a whole other level of thrilling.

"What are you looking for?" The woman asked behind him, not having moved from where she sat on the floor. The young crab glanced over his shoulder for a moment, flashing the young Octoling a polite smile.

"My Grandfather designed a very special weapon. He left me a letter when he died that told me its whereabouts, but I need to locate it first."

As strange as it was, Sheldon was relieved the woman was talking. The last thing he wanted was to feel like some sort of terrorist in addition to the fear that he may have to hurt someone.

"Oh," she replied. "That's...interesting. This weapon, what exactly does it do?"

"Modulates the air currents in order to produce a hyperactive frequency that will weaken the atomic stability of particles within a subspace, specifically the particles of those that resonate at a level of between 0.5 and 40 kHZ or kilohertz in layman's terms. To be even more specific, it does so at a pressure of more than 101,325 Pa." When he turned to look elsewhere, he noted the absolutely lost expression on the woman's face. "That's...erm...Pascals." He explained, straightening his goggles.

Suddenly there was another series of chirps from the proximity detectors, causing Sheldon to quickly draw his weapon once more.

"Who else was with you?" He demanded of the woman, the ink tank flooding his Splattershot.

"N-no one! Honest!"

Sheldon scowled, running to the window to see another Octoling wandering closer. Unlike the woman behind him, this man was armed to the teeth and…The crab's eyes widened. On the front of his hip, he was displaying the Squidbeak Splatoon badge, half stained with cobalt blood. He couldn't have!

The weapon-maker's legs began to wobble as he reached out to steady himself on the table. Callie and Marie...had they both been killed? Worse, it seemed like this man tortured his location out of them. Who knew how much they'd suffered trying to protect him? What would the man do to him then?

"Sheldon!" He called out, his eyes scanning the windows, just as the crab ducked out of view. "Listen to me, I need your help!"

Sheldon hissed. How stupid did this guy think he was? He wasn't about to just oust himself. The woman's eyes looked to him from where she sat, before gesturing to his gun. "Do you have another one of those?"

"Why?" He whispered.

"I know that man. He's a wanted criminal here. When it comes to Octolings, he's the worst of the worst, understand? I don't want him finding me any more than you want him finding you. If you give me a weapon, we can both take him."

Sheldon pondered it for a moment before nodding and reaching into his pack. Drawing a spare gun and ink tank, he tossed them over to the woman. Strapping it on to her back, she nodded towards the door way, the both of them crawling to either side to flank the entrance.

"Sheldon!" He called again, holding his hand to shield his eyes as he searched for him. "If you're here, I need you to come out, now! This is urgent!"

Looking across to his new ally, Sheldon nodded to the woman before holding up his hand to give a count. 1...2...3! At three he leapt out with a fierce roar, leveling his weapon at the man. Before he did though, the man's gun was already drawn and aimed square at his head. His gaze froze Sheldon's blood with the amount of rage and hatred that were stored in them.

"Sheldon, get on the ground...now." The man instructed and that was when the crab realized he wasn't glaring at him. He was glaring behind him. Turning around, the gun fell from the weapon-maker's hands as he found himself staring down the barrel of his own creation.

* * *

I'd managed to track my way down to Sheldon's location, only to find him waiting for me with weapon drawn. At first, I'd hoped to talk him down and explain the situation, but that was when trouble once more reared its ugly head for me.

Behind him, a face that was all too familiar peered out sinisterly, her weapon now pointed at the back of his head. "Sheldon, get on the ground...now." I warned, but the dumb kid just dropped his gun and stared straight into the she-devil's weapon.

"Lusca," she cooed. "It's been far too long. Have you been behaving yourself?"

"Miranda," I grunted. "Let the kid go, this is between us. He has nothing to do with it."

"See, now I disagree," the ex-commander shot back. "I lost my position because of you. Not only that, but you killed Amy as well? How did you manage to swing that?"

My hand ran to my chest where I could still feel some burning from my injuries. "Faith, trust, and pixie dust," I replied sarcastically. "I'm not here for you Miranda, so drop your weapon and go back to whatever life you have now before you lose it."

"I know what you're planning, Lusca."

"Oh, I highly doubt that."

"For certain. Your little friend here was more than eager to tell me all about your 'secret weapon'. So, what? You're an Inkling now? Is that it? Going to turn your back on your own people all for the sake of getting a bit of tentacle?"

"Firstly, do not talk about them that way. Secondly, you're a fool. This is so much bigger than all of us. You, me, him...there's billions of lives at stake, those of Octarians included. I won't ask you again. Drop the gun!"

"You're unbelievable," she growled, kicking the crab behind the leg and driving him to his knees before placing the gun at his temple.

I could feel something welling up inside of me as a burning sensation filled my eyes. "Let...him...go…" My words sounded odd, distorted as she let out a gasp of fear.

"That's…" The boy said, his eyes widening as well. "That's the Yellow Sign!"

"Bingo," I snapped in a voice that wasn't my own, thrusting my free hand upwards. Golden energy seemed to pour out all around me racing along the ground like streaks of lightning. Sheldon quickly dove out of the way as the light engulfed Miranda like thick strings.

Like a puppet, I tugged and plucked at her soul, forcing her hand to move upwards and put the barrel beneath her chin. "How are you doing this?" She demanded, her entire body shaking, yet unable to be controlled.

"Without guilt or remorse," I hissed.

"Stop!" Sheldon cried out, causing my head to turn slightly. He now stood beside me, his own gun pointed at my head. "Listen to me carefully. I don't know what's going on, but if you have the Yellow Sign then that means if you kill her, you can't go back."

"Weren't you listening, kid?" I asked, nodding towards Miranda. "She has no intention of letting either of us go."

Sheldon had to think quickly. Turning his own gun on himself, he stared Lusca down. "If you kill her, I won't be too far behind. You need my help, so you have to let her go."

As my hand slowly lowered, Miranda's eyes closed and she collapsed in an unconscious heap. Lowering his own weapon, the young horseshoe crab let out a sigh of relief. "That was close."

"Care to explain further?"

"Later. For now, let's tie her up and get out of here. The weapon isn't in that warehouse, but I think I can remake it."

After leaving the bound Miranda against the warehouse, I began to lead Sheldon back towards our group. Neither of us noticed, however, how Miranda's eyes shot open behind us, emitting their own bright golden hue.

To be continued...


	17. Chapter 17

An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 17

 **AN: Hey everyone. Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. I've been working a lot on my third novel. I'm actually looking for people to give me some feedback on the previous one before I go to publish it. It's also rated T, so if you'd be interested in giving it a read let me know! As always, your reviews and messages are much appreciated. I thought about making a joke about canceling the series, but it took me a little longer to write the chapter so I missed April Fool's Day. Ah well. -Kiba**

Sheldon and I quickly arrived back just in time. Marie had begun to groggily wake up as Callie rushed to greet me by throwing her arms around me tightly. "What happened?" she demanded. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I assured her, as Sheldon's eyes seemed to focus elsewhere. He walked in a daze towards Sil who was on the floor, writhing in obvious agony. "How is she?"

Callie frowned. "She kept calling out for you," she explained. "I've done my best to try to make her feel better, but whatever is wrong it must hurt a lot."

Sheldon pulled his pack from his back, setting it down beside her before he too sat, crossing his legs beneath them. "Hello," he greeted politely, causing her deep violet eyes to open and regard the stranger. "My name is Sheldon," he continued, "I'm going to help you feel better. What's your name?"

After a slight hesitation, she opened her mouth to speak before letting out a pained whimper. Approaching the two, I knelt down beside her. "Her name is Sil," I explained. "At least, that's what we call her. She's a pretty amazing girl. She's taken a full face of ink at least twice and just shrugged it off."

Sheldon's smile faded slightly as he rummaged in his back. "When did she first show up?"

"Shortly after reaching my old shop. At first, only I could see her. Then when we were down in the sewers, we could all see her." Remembering that Sheldon had mentioned the Yellow Mark, maybe he knew something about her. "Oh! That reminds me. Something happened to us down there. We ended up in a weird place called Carcosa."

The needle he was preparing fell from his hand with a clatter on the ground. "D-did you say C-carcosa?" Sheldon stuttered nervously. "How in the world did you manage to get out of C-carcosa?"

"With the help of this little one," I replied, gently running my hand over her tentacles as she let out another low moan of agony. "She saved all of us."

Off to the side, Callie had returned to her own wounded cousin who gripped her head painfully. "Oww...what happened?" Marie whined.

"Marie, you're okay now," Callie assured her, hugging her perplexed sister tightly. "Listen to me, I don't think my life would be easier without you, okay?"

"Where's all this coming from?"

"Don't worry about that, just...just know that it's true. Hold on to it, no matter what. No matter how bad things get, don't forget that I love you and that my world would be far more empty without you."

Marie slowly hugged Callie in return. "Callie, I'm so sorry," she replied, her memories starting to trickle back. "I wasn't myself, you know? I mean...I was jealous...am jealous, but I'd never…"

"I know," she quickly cut her off. "I know."

"Tell me everything!" Sheldon demanded. "Did you see the Yellow King?! Please, tell me! I have to know!"

I shook my head. "I fear the Yellow King has been dead for quite some time,," I finally whispered. Sheldon sank back on his knees in shock. "What's wrong?"

"I'd always thought...maybe if I could find him, maybe he'd come back…" he whispered, tears forming beneath his spectacles and running down his cheeks.

"Sheldon?"

"My Grandfather was the last King in Yellow. He made a trade with the Carcosans. They'd give him information on how to beat Cthulu if he surrendered his hand in marriage to them once it was all said and done. My grandpappy," his words were interrupted by a sniffle as he wiped his face, "he was a genius. My grandma died shortly after the war started, so he'd always assumed that his mission would be his last. He had a daughter, see? My mother. But the two never got along. He was always in laboratory, tinkering away. He didn't do much fathering."

"Sheldon, I'm so sorry," I began, biting my tongue to prevent from revealing that it was I who was meant to be the next King. "If it helps, he ended up having another daughter. Two of them, in fact. He may have been happy there."

The horseshoe crab's expression darkened as he glared at me, "Let's get one thing straight. My grandpappy never would have stooped so low as to fall into their trap if he didn't absolutely have to. I am certain he fought until his dying breath before marrying that demon! He wouldn't just…" He paused, taking a deep breath. "My Grandpappy left me a large collection of written letters detailing his work and the encounters he faced. The Crest of Carcosa allowed him to learn...things. Forbidden tomes of knowledge that flooded his mind. You've already felt it, I'm sure. You've seen the ruins of R'lyeh, learned its language perhaps? That's all because of the Yellow Sign. All it takes is spilling the blood of one person using its power and you're officially they're puppet. Whatever willpower saved you from turning before would be of no use to you any longer. That's why I stopped you."

"Thank you," I muttered.

He sighed softly, picking the needle back up again and expelling a small bit of fluid to get rid of the air inside of it. "Hold her still, this will help with the pain." I obliged, cradling Sil in my arms as he moved the needle closer to her wrist. As a drop fell from its tip, it sizzled on her arm, and I quickly pushed his hand away.

"Wait, look," I instructed, pointing to the small blotch on her skin. Sure enough, whatever was in that needle was burning her, almost like…"That's R'lyeh Ink isn't it?"

"Y-yeah," he replied just as I wiped it from her arm.

"So R'lyeh ink hurts her? Why? It healed the rest of us."

"R'lyeh only hurts Great Old Ones. It was how Cthulu killed his kin."

"Kin?"

"Yes. Great Old Ones are all related," Sheldon explained. "They don't have any true name for them in recorded history, but they're assumed to be beings from a distant universe that's far different from our own."

"So then...Sil is…"

"Related to Cthulu, yes."

Something else dawned on me as well. "I'm sorry to say Sheldon, that I know how your grandpappy died now. Cthulu must have killed him. They told me the previous King died at the hands of his half-brother."

Sheldon fell quiet once more as he stared at the now shivering elder god. "Then that makes our mission all the more important. I intend to make my Grandpappy proud of me. Unfortunately, I don't have any tools necessary to help Sil. She's just going to have to suffer until we can defeat Cthulu and find a way to cure her stomach ache."

I clutched her tightly in my arms as she cried weakly and nuzzled closer, her hands resting on her stomach. "Y-y'gnaiih…" she whispered, the first time I'd actually heard her speak from her own mouth rather than in my head.

"Y'gnaiih?" Sheldon murmured, looking up at me before pulling out a large series of papers from his bag and flipping from them. "This is what she's been calling you?"

"Yeah, do you know what it means?"

After a few moments, Sheldon paused, his features scrunching up. "It means 'my father'. She's saying that you're a great old one."

"What? But...I'm not her father! She just appeared in front of me is all. I mean, I didn't even...I mean, I've never…" I stumbled over my words as I tried to justify myself to the young crab. Sil, however, continued to nuzzle closer to me. If he could translate R'lyehian though, perhaps he could help us identify who Sil actually was. "She also called herself 'Y'Goffyn'. What does that mean?"

"My children," he replied after flipping through a few more notes. "That doesn't make any sense…"

"Sounds pretty sensible to me," I replied. "If I'm her 'father', she is 'my children'."

"That's not quite how it works," Sheldon explained. "The fact that she calls herself 'my children', means that she is her _own_ child. Great Old Ones reproduce like we do. So in a way, she's calling you her father and her child at the same time."

"This is all so confusing," I groaned. "But if her real parents also called her 'my children' then…" I paused for a moment. "This is going to sound crazy. But if Sil is related to Cthulu...and her name is 'my Children'...then is it possible that she…" I let the words hang there as all eyes turned to the silent child whimpering in agony. "I mean, that's insane right? She couldn't be his...you know...how would he even have...you know?"

"That wouldn't explain why she calls you 'my father'," Sheldon pointed out. "Come on, let's get back to the surface and regroup. I think I have a plan to fight Cthulu."

Running my hand through Sil's tentacles, I frowned. "We have another problem as well. The Captain has been captured by the enemy. We have Agent 3 searching for him, but...she's just a kid. I don't know how much longer her stamina will be able to hold out."

"Gramps is gone?" Marie questioned, her voice sinking just as Callie's had when she heard the news. "Then, what are we supposed to do? Without him, we have nothing. At this point, we were better off in Carcosa."

"Now hold on," Callie interjected. "That's not true! We have everything we need right here. We've got Lusca and the Yellow Sign. We have a Great Old One on our side. We literally have everything and more that formed the first Squid Beak Splatoon." Callie's forwardness made us all quiet down as she let out a huff. "No one ever thought this was going to be easy! We knew that coming down here that it would be hard. But I'd like to point out that we have fought and survived against _two_ Great Old Ones and we've even managed to come out unharmed! As far as I'm concerned, that means we are winning this fight."

"Callie, while I appreciate the optimism…" Sheldon began, but she interrupted him.

"We _are_ winning! Agent 3 has already taken down one Octarian War Machine by herself! Lusca's insanity seems to be under wraps now that he has better control of the sign. We are all together and we are all safe. We're soldiers now. We're in a war and in a war you don't call yourself defeated when we're in the lead. Now as Sheldon said, let's go back to Inkopolis. Maybe we can find something for Sil there. Agent 3, too. She's probably exhausted. Let's clear our heads, then restart our search for the weapon in the morning."

As she stood there with her hands on her hips, I could feel a soft smile crossing my features. It was amazing to watch her take charge. I could see now why the Captain chose her to lead. It was then that I knew, I'd follow Callie anywhere. "She's right," I agreed. "Whoever took the Captain needs him for something. They won't kill him. He's counting on us to finish this mission. He said so himself, this is bigger than all of us. It's not just about us anymore. This is about the whole world." The dark-tentacled popstar smiled at me as I stood beside her, holding Sil in my arms.

"I suppose that is a logical conclusion," Sheldon murmured to himself.

Marie however, remained completely silent. "Marie?" Callie asked, "Is something wrong?"

After a few more moments, she took a deep breath and shook her head. "No. You guys go ahead and return to the surface without me. I'm going to keep looking until I find him. If you want to have your premature celebration top-side while Gramps dies, fine, but count me out of it." Her words were cold and bitter, and I could see the hurt she was causing Callie. Why did Marie insist on doing this to herself?

"Marie, you're coming with us," I stated blithely. "This isn't a celebration, this is a tactical retreat."

"A tactical retreat?" she scoffed, "A tactical retreat from what enemy? The only hostiles we've encountered so far have been the Carcosa cunts and _you_."

Anger began to pour into me as my eyes flashed a sinister gold, but Callie quickly stepped in front of me. "That's enough, Marie."

"Ooh, there's a surprise," she grumbled as she stood up and dusted herself off, "Callie to Lusca's rescue. She has to make sure her hooks are in deep. Can't let him get out of sight, no sir."

Sheldon seemed very concerned by the building situation as his gaze constantly flowed between the three of us. "Marie, that's enough," Callie repeated, this time colder than before.

"You're right, Callie, it is enough. I'm sick of this. You keep forsaking your own family at any given chance to follow behind Lusca like a love-sick puppy. I've had enough." She turned to leave, and that was when the wall Callie struggled to keep up cracked.

Cutting off her cousin's path, I could see rage in her eyes. "I'm the love-sick puppy? _I'm_ the one who forsaked our family? Last I checked, Marie, you have no right to be criticizing anyone!" Marie took a surprised step back, causing Callie to advance on her like a hungry animal. "You're the one who became so obsessed Marie! When we first met Lusca, I just wanted to be _nice_. When I moved the Inkstrike, I didn't do it to flirt. I didn't do it to impress him or to seduce him. I did it because he _begged_ us to stop it! I saved his life at our concert because we _promised_ we would leave him in the same state we got him. Do you know why he picked me? It's because this entire time, I'm the only one who's treated him like a person and not some sort of prize to be won!"

Marie growled, ready to come back equally strong. "Oh, really? You've never flirted with him, not even a little? Don't give me that crap, Callie! You've gotten into his bed, not once, not twice, but three times now! You think he doesn't see through your, 'Oh, look at me. I'm just a cute girl who's naive and vulnerable' act? What happened to all of that bravado form when we were in a cell? Oh that's right, you don't have _any!_ I may have trouble sorting out my feelings, but I'm still more consistent than you. Lusca came to rescue you and you treated him like dirt because he killed _one_ Inkling. One inkling in his entire lifetime was enough to shake your faith in him and yet, have you ever told him how many Octarians you've splatted?"

"Marie, don't…"

"What's wrong, Callie? Afraid that he won't love you once he finds out your dirty secret?"

"Marie, shut up!"

My eyes shifted between the two of them. What was Marie talking about? Even Sheldon looked to be at a complete loss as Sil began to cry in pain into my shoulder. "Well, you know what they say, Callie! The foundation of every good relationship is honesty and trust. Let's see how much he _trusts_ you when you're _honest_." Turning back to me, she wore a sinister smirk on her lips. "Did Callie ever tell you how we got into this business, Lusca? Hmm?" Callie went to pounce on her cousin, but Marie slugged her hard in the jaw, sending her to the ground with a whimper. "Oh sure, it was all fun and games at first. We would pretend we were part of the legendary 'Squidbeak Splatoon' Gramps was always telling us stories about. We'd pretend to fight Octarians and we'd spray each other with harmless colored ink. But then one day, Callie actually _met_ an Octarian. Just some kid, not much older than us."

"Lusca, don't listen to her," Callie begged, just as Marie put her foot on her head, pushing it into the dirt.

"That kid had taken a wrong turn. He wasn't hurting anyone, just minding his own business. So do you know what your oh, so, innocent angel did? She went inside, grabbed one of Gramps' guns, and while he was pleading for her to let him go, pointed the barrel in his face and splatted him."

My hearts pounded roughly in my chest as Sil's grip tightened on my collar, her pain becoming even greater than it was before. "Callie, is that true?" I asked, desperately hoping it wasn't.

"Yes," she whimpered. "It's true."

"When Gramps heard what she did, hardly being even ten years old, he didn't scold her or comfort her. He _praised_ her! He told her she had done well to help stop an Octarian from invading our home on the surface. Turns out, Callie couldn't stop there, of course. She had to have even more attention. But she couldn't just wait for another Octarian to wander to the surface. She started sneaking out at night, dragging me from my bed, to go down into Octovalley and hunt the Octarians she hated so much. To this day, she still keeps track of her kills. One notch on her bed at Gramps' cottage for each Octarian corpse she left behind."

My mouth felt dry as I stared down at the pink-clad girl. Her entire body was heaving as tears rained from her eyes. "Callie, why?"

"I didn't know!" Callie cried. "I didn't know that Octarians could be good people. I didn't know!" Her entire body shook as Marie moved off of her, walking towards me. Sitting up, she wrapped her arms around herself, sobbing pitifully. "I was just a kid. A stupid kid. Gramps told me all of these stories about how he was a hero. I wanted to be a hero, too!"

"A hero?" I growled. "A hero?! A hero doesn't gun down innocent _children_ Callie! A hero doesn't go out looking for blood!" My body was shaking as I continued to seethe. "How many, Callie? You keep count, so tell me how many!"

"Lusca…"

"HOW MANY?!" I roared, causing a flash of golden flames to erupt from my eyes.

"2,148," she finally confessed. "I've killed 2,148 Octarians. But I never lied to you, Lusca, I swear. I told you, I've never really thought about what I was doing before I met you. I've lost countless hours of sleep over each and every one of those Octarians. There's not a moment I don't regret not pausing to think that maybe I was hurting innocent people!"

"See?" Marie interjected. "Your goody two-shoes angel is nothing but a front, Lusca. She's as bloodthirsty as a shark."

My fist clenched, golden energy flooding my hands as I held the still wailing Sil in my arms. "Callie, I'm about to gain retribution for every innocent life you stole. I swear to you, I'm going to make you pay for every drop of blood you've spilled with your own." Lifting up my hand towards her, she just hung her head low, weeping. There was a high pitched whine followed by a crackling sound, just as electricity arced through my body, sending me to my knees with a hiss, and collapsing on the ground.

Sheldon stood there, anger in his eyes as he quickly turned the gun on Marie. "One more word from you and you're next," he warned. Keeping the gun trained on her, he walked over to Callie and crouched down, placing his hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "Callie, it's okay. Let's get you out of here, huh?"

"Heh, seduced another one, Callie?" Marie asked before the crab kept true to his promise and zapped her to a crumpled heap.

"Listen to me. I grew up on the same stories, Callie. My grandpappy wasn't around to tell me them, but I poured over his book every night. That's why I started designing weapons in the first place. War is harsh, Callie, we all know that. Even Lusca."

I began to struggle to get up, but Sheldon turned and pointed his gun back at me. I still felt so angry. "I swear," I growled, "I'll...kill…"

"Shut up," Sheldon snapped. "Is this really all it takes to turn you against someone you claim to love? You're still clinging to Sil. Do you have any clue how many beings have probably been sacrificed to her over time? Sil is in _agony_ and if you had paid attention for even half a second, you'd realize that she hurts even more when you argue and fight! I warned you what would happen with the Yellow Sign if you killed someone. So let...it...go. You can talk about this topside once you've cooled off. Until then, I shoot the next person who argues, understand?" Putting Callie's arm around his shoulder, he helped her towards the extraction zone he'd planned for in advance, before turning to regard Marie and I. "Are you two coming?"

I said nothing, simply helping Marie to her feet and cradling Sil as I followed after them both. Was Sheldon right? It wasn't just the sign making me angry was it? Worse, was that what was hurting Sil? She was trembling in my arms, but the pain seemed to have subsided. Part of me was relieved. The other part wished he hadn't been right.

Our trip back to the cabin was absolutely silent. No one wanted to say a word. Now that it had been more or less cleaned up, we found that the same could not be said of the inside when we opened the door. "Oh no," Callie whimpered before Sheldon quickly shielded her eyes, taking her into the back room, checking to ensure they were clear.

"Don't look Callie. It'll be okay. The Captain will be okay."

All of the furniture was strewn about the modest abode. Even the freshly baked crabby cakes had fallen to the ground discarded in the struggle. "God in heaven," I whispered under my breath.

Coming out of the room, Sheldon sighed. "Callie's resting now. Marie, you go into the other room."

"You're putting me in time out? Really, Sheldon?"

"Yes, I am," he shot back matter-of-factly. "If you insist on behaving like a child Marie, I'm going to treat you like one. Now...go to your room."

She let out a disgusted grunt before obliging him, shutting the door behind her. Setting Sil down I began to work righting the upended furniture. "So what about me?" I asked, placing the couch back on its feet. "Let me guess...I'm too dangerous to leave alone? Handcuff me to the stove or something?"

"Don't be silly," Sheldon said, sweeping up the mess on the floor and depositing it into the trash. "I think you've been punished more than enough. Hearing all that because you're in the middle of a feud? That's pretty harsh stuff." What was he getting at?

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," he assured me. "I'm sure if I found out the girl I was crushing on had killed a bunch of my family and friends, I'd be pretty upset too." Sil wobbled over to the couch before flopping on to it with a relieved sigh.

"She didn't…" I paused, giving him a scowl. "But you knew that."

"Naturally."

"How?"

"You went to Octovalley and didn't visit a single person. You instead fought with the one civilian I met. Threatened to kill her even. She accused you of betraying your people for, and I quote, 'getting a piece of tentacle'. Considering those two girls are the only Inklings that really go down into Octo Valley to fight, if your friends and family had been all wiped out, I doubt that you'd have surrendered yourself to them."

"Even still, those people are…"

"Dead. I know. But you saw Callie. Do you really think her a cold remorseless killer? I mean, the poor girl was bawling her eyes out. So she made a mistake…"

"She made over two thousand mistakes," I interrupted.

He sighed, upending a chair and sitting in it. "You can't honestly tell me that you haven't made such a mistake before." Wordlessly, my gaze lowered to my belt, where the blood stained badge still rested. "Yeah, that's what I figured."

"Even still, two thousand people is…" My words trailed off.

After a moment, Sheldon spoke up again. "I'm willing to bet that in their shoes you'd have done the same as her. That's war, Lusca. It's a propaganda battle to see which sheep are dumb enough to run themselves off of a cliff first."

Looking back at Sil where she slept, something occurred to me. "Hey...does she look bigger to you?"

Sheldon appeared confused. "What do you mean?"

Moving closer to her, I gently rested my hand on her stomach. Sure enough, it felt swollen. "She's bloated. When we first found her, she wasn't like this. What could be…" My eyes widened as I suddenly felt a thud against my hand, causing Sil to whimper in her sleep. "Oh my God. She's pregnant."

"What?" Sheldon asked confused, placing his hand beside mine. "That's not possible." Another thud and we both jerked away quickly. "Holy crab...she is…"

The two of us looked at one another. "My father...my child…"

"Maybe you're not the only one she calls 'my father'."

"I'm getting really sick of this freaky shit," I groaned, running my hands through my tentacles. "First I'm seeing crazy doppelgangers and now a pregnant five year old. This is getting out of hand."

"I'll do some research into this. Maybe Grandpappy left something." Just as he stood up to leave, he stopped and pointed at me. "You, on the other hand, need to go talk with Callie. You can be mad all you want, but she made me promise to have you come talk to her." My eyes drifted to Sil, momentarily. "I'll keep watch over her. Go."

"Fine." I replied. Moving from the couch, I walked to Callie's door. Taking a deep breath, I pushed it slightly open, knocking on it gently. I had to keep myself calm. Sheldon was right. I didn't want to hurt her. "Hello?"

Sitting in the bed, her eyes red and puffy, was Callie. She sniffled as she heard me, wiping her face with a tissue. "Hey."

I sighed, walking in and shutting the door behind me. As I sat beside her, my hand went to rest on hers with a smile. She didn't return it. "Callie, I don't know how to start this…"

"I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, Lusca," she whispered. "I didn't want you to find out this way. I just...how do I possibly justify myself to you?" Her hand rolled over to slip her fingers between mine. "I wasn't lying about any of it, I swear to you. I was just being nice at first. I didn't do it because it was love at first sight or anything like that. I just...when you were begging for me to stop it, something clicked in my head. Despite being our enemy, you were actually surprisingly nice to us. When you intercepted us in the end, I thought we were goners for sure. But then you surrendered yourself. You didn't have to do that, but you did. You cared about us, even though we'd only just met."

I smiled, slipping into bed beside her as she'd done with me so many times. "That makes four," I informed her with a smile.

She smiled back at me, nuzzling into my shoulder. "Then, after all of the trouble we've put you through for us...I didn't know what to say. You told me once that you wouldn't forgive me because there was nothing to forgive remember? Well, I'm asking you again...please forgive me?"

In response, I simply lifted her chin slightly to stare into her beautiful golden eyes. Holding her gaze captive with my own, I leaned forward and placed a loving kiss against her lips. After the briefest of moments, her eyes closed as she pressed herself back against me. Our legs tangled with one another's as I held her close to me, savoring her taste. Soon our tongues clashed as we seemed to continue taking it step after step further.

As she gripped my tentacles, holding me to her neck, I sucked and nibbled on her skin affectionately. She let out a gentle moan into my ear, like beautiful music. "L-lusca…"

I ignored her addressing me, taking the time to ensure that the hickie I left on her throat would be visible in contrast to her pale skin. She giggled, her hands running from my head down my spine and to my waist. Now that she was marked, I pulled my mouth from her throat, leaving a glistening dark spot, now moist from my saliva.

"I get to give you one now, right?" she asked. I nodded, tilting my head slightly to the side as she rolled on top of me, burying her face into the side of me neck. Already I could feel her sharp teeth grazing my skin, yet with the feeling of her soft body on top of mine, I didn't even really care.

She was straddling my waist as she pulled from my neck. Sitting up, I ran my hands up her thighs before giving her a playful spank that made her blush profusely with a surprised squeak. Before I could comment on the adorable sound, however, she pounced on me, fiercely making out with me on the cot.

It wasn't until a few minutes later that Sheldon burst in, causing both of us to immediately sit up with a start, causing Callie to nearly tumble off the bed. "Sorry, but this is big! I know who Sil is! Her real name is Cthylla!"

To be continued.


	18. Chapter 18

An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 18

 **AN: Hey everyone I know that this has been pretty hectic lately. Some of you are enjoying the Lovecraftian aspect, some of you not. For those of you who don't, I'm sorry to say that it will be carrying on to the end of the series which is rapidly approaching. Either way, I hope that you continue to read and give me feedback, I appreciate it even if it isn't positive so please feel free to leave something behind. If you like it, a favorite and a follow go a long way, if you don't tell me what you don't like so I can improve. I'm always eager to receive criticism. Thank you again for all of your support. -Kiba**

Callie and I sheepishly rose from the bed, following Sheldon back to the living room. "So, while you two have been…talking...I decided I'd pour through Grandpappy's notes to see if there was any information there. Unfortunately, Lusca, our hypothesis was indeed accurate. She's pregnant."

"Pr-pregnant?!" Callie squealed in surprise. "B-but that would mean that she…"

"Not exactly," he replied, flipping a few pages in the thick tome before holding it up for our inspection. "He mentions a prophecy located in a book he calls the 'Necronomicon' that contains detailed information about most of the Great Old Ones: dead or alive. It states that if Cthulu is ever killed, he can be awoken. However, when you awaken him, he still must be born into the world, so for his vessel he chose his daughter: Cthylla."

"That's creepy," she uttered with a shiver.

I grasped Callie's hand comfortingly before asking, "How do we know for certain that Sil is Cthylla? I mean, how do we know that she isn't just a...pregnant Great Old One other than Cthylla."

Sheldon frowned, scratching his cheek. "That's...not going to be an answer you like hearing."

"What do you mean?"

"The Yellow Sign is far more dangerous than we first feared. It's not just the Crest of Carcosa, it _is_ a Great Old One. Specifically, his name is Hastur and he is Cthulu's half-brother. Now, bear with me for a moment, because this is going to be complicated. Cthulu threatened to destroy Carcosa, which is a distant dimension outside of space and time that is ruled over by Hastur. In order to save Carcosa, Hastur placed his essence into the mark, using it to manifest as a mortal and to combat Cthulu. He managed to seal Cthulu away from Carcosa, barely saving it, but it resulted in his death. However, prophecy says that if Cthulu _is_ killed and _is_ to be reborn, Hastur's mark selects someone it feels will be easily manipulated."

"Sorry?"

"Shh," Callie hushed.

Straightening his goggles, Sheldon continued his explanation. "See, before he died, Hastur was Cthylla's god-father. When Cthulu dies, his role is to shepherd her to her prophecy and to give birth to him once more. Needless to say, being killed changes his mind on the matter. Cthylla is still his half-niece, so he still wishes to care for her. It's entirely plausible that the reason she is drawn to you, and vice versa is because of his influence on your mind." Finished with his explanation, he shut the book with a heavy thud and a grin. "Apparently, Hastur was more of a father to her than her actual father: thus, her name for you." He also uttered another thing under his breath.

"Can you repeat that?" I asked, looking to Sil, _or Cthylla_ , I reminded myself, I could see her eyes closed as she lay doubled over in pain. What sick twisted sort of being would choose his own daughter as his vessel? Sheldon snapped his fingers in front of my face, causing me to cast him a perplexed look.

"Do _not_ get attached," he warned ominously.

"Why not?" Callie asked, sitting beside her head to stroke her tentacles from her face. "She's sweet and adorable."

"Cthylla is mentioned a few times in the text. She may be your hindbrain's niece Lusca...but she's also destined to be Hastur's wife."

Time seemed to freeze as his words ran through me like a freight train. After a moment, Callie began to giggle, then she burst into laughter, unable to control herself. Clutching her stomach, she fell off of the sofa onto the ground, tears forming in her eyes. "It's not that funny, Callie," I grumbled.

"It's hilarious! That's like...the fourth person who is romantically interested in you now? And she's like five!" She began to cackled again just as Sheldon interrupted.

"Actually, she's ancient. Aeons old, really."

Callie sat up wiping her eyes as she tried to control her fits of laughter. "S-sorry, it's just so funny!"

"I fail to see how," I protested.

"Don't you get it Lusca? That's why she attacked Marie and I any time we tried to get close! She wanted you all to her...self…" her words trailed off as something occurred to her, her eyes going to the unopened room. "I hope Marie's okay."

"It's very important," Sheldon interrupted, "that your feelings be kept under wraps for the time being. Chaos makes Cthulu stronger, and believe me, we already have enough to contend with."

"Which is why we were looking for a weapon, right? You said you thought you could remake the one your Grandfather used," I quickly added, trying to change the subject before Callie became too upset.

"In theory, yes. See the way Cthulu is killed...or rather is banished...is by exposing him to a high concentration of vibrational energy at varying frequencies."

"Ooh, ooh, ooh! Like a guitar?" Callie asked excitedly.

"Sort of. You're on the right track. It's a song. If we use a modified version of my Killer Wail, we can blast him back to the Abyss where he belongs."

"That's fine and all," I agreed, "but what about Cthylla? We can't just…"

"Do _NOT_ get attached," he reminded me again. "As far as I know, the song only banishes Cthulu, but don't think for one moment that because she's sweet and loving right now that his daughter is not every bit as destructive as he is."

"Let me get Marie, she needs to hear this," Callie declared, walking to the door, but Sheldon quickly stepped in front of her, blocking the entrance. "Sheldon?"

"It'd be better if I did it, Callie. Remember...chaos brings power."

With a frown, the popstar nodded solemnly. As Sheldon cracked open the door, he paused, opening it a bit wider before poking his head back out. "Erm...bad news…"

"What is it?"

"She's gone."

"Damn it! Again?!" I snapped, Callie and I running to grab our disguises before Sheldon quickly cut us off.

"Sheldon, that's starting to get annoying," Callie growled. "We need to find her."

"No, _we_ need to focus on the problem we have here. If she left, that's all the better because she's removing the chaotic feelings she has from Cthulu's presence. I care about Marie, too, Callie, but that's not what's important right now. The entire _world_ is at stake."

"But...we can't just…"

"Look, here's the plan. I'll begin work on the weapon. With the tools and weapons your Gramps has around here, it won't be hard for me to synthesize one. We can send _one_ person out to get Marie, the other needs to look after Sil."

"I'll go," Callie declared.

"Wrong. Lusca should be the one to go."

"Are you serious?" I argued. "Why me?"

"For starters, this is your fault."

"My fault?!"

"You're the reason she flipped out like she did. The Yellow Sign's madness was amplified by the thin fabric of existence below Octo Valley. If you reign yourself in, you'll be the one to snap her out of it. Not to mention that I don't want you near Sil any longer than is absolutely necessary. If Hastur gains a greater control on your mind, there's no telling what you'll do."

"Yes, but...I mean...won't this just make it worse if I go?"

"Only if you kiss her," Callie blithely muttered, before giving a sigh of surrender. "But he's right, Lusca. You always seem to be able to bring her out of a funk. You find her, I'll stay here and watch over Sil." I opened my mouth to protest again, but her hand reached out to grab mine. "Please. For me? I promise, I will take good care of Sil. I won't let Sheldon do anything until you get back, okay?"

As my eyes met her golden ones, my head slowly bobbed up and down. Her touch was so calming that I was surprised by how quickly I'd agreed. Putting my disguise on, I nodded to them both, leaving the shack to find Marie.

I was not surprised, when again, I found her by the docks. Thankfully, this time, she was not dangling from a rope, but simply sat there, staring out over the ocean as the salty sea air blew through her tentacles. "Marie?" I called, causing her to look over her shoulder at me with a smile.

"Hey," she replied in greeting, before falling silent to return to her gazing. Lowering myself next to her, I felt a strange sensation coming from her. She seemed almost tranquil. Happy, even.

"Are you alright?"

"Shh," she interrupted, "don't spoil the view with noise."

I quietly nodded, simply looking out over the ocean. It was beautiful. Once again, just as it had before when we had our talks here, the sun was setting painting the normally crystal blue water a fiery orange.

"Nice hickie."

It took me a moment to register what she'd said, but I just gave a chuckle. "Thanks," I replied. "It was a gift."

She rolled her eyes before jabbing me playfully in the side with her elbow. "A gift for what?"

"The hickie I gave her, of course."

"For once, you make the first move? I can scarcely believe it to be true," she teased, the smile never leaving her face. "Lusca, I'm really sorry about what happened down there."

"Don't be. None of us were in control of the things we did. Cthulu apparently feeds on chaos. You, Marie, seem to have a lot of it."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm complicated," she replied. "I've kind of embraced that by now. Even still, I shouldn't have put you or Callie on the spot like that."

"Actually, I'm glad you did. I don't mind arguing as much as you may think. Sometimes it's healthy to hear what you want to ignore. Callie and I talked about it, and now we've moved past it."

"Just like that, huh?"

"Yep. Water under the bridge."

"What about me?"

"We argue all the time. It's a constant cycle of 'water under the bridge', though at this point it's more like 'water over the dam'."

She shook her head. "Don't you ever get sick of dealing with me? I know I would."

"Sometimes," I admitted honestly, "but with those times also come the good ones."

"It's been a week, Lusca. How can we have bad and good times? Surely you don't have an opinion of someone formulated in only a week complex enough to pick out the good and bad."

"It was less than a week when I saved you the last time we were here," he explained. "On top of that, the talks we've had on this pier have really helped me as well. What I'm trying to get at is when it comes to my friends Marie, I'm glad to count you among them."

Marie sighed. "Yeah, some friend I've been. I've been trying to break you up with Callie for the last two days. I even tried to kill my own cousin and when that didn't work, I was tricked into trying to kill myself...again."

"But you also stopped me from jumping into the pool of ink after Sil. Or when you tried to protect me from the Carcosans. You comforted me when I was drowning in guilt after killing that police officer. Don't think I've forgotten you dragging my sorry carcass back inside after the fight with Amy either. You're not a bad friend Marie. You're just...complicated."

She chuckled before falling flat on her back to look up at the sky, her legs dangling off the end of the pier. "Complicated is a good word," she agreed. "Bitchy is a better one. Bipolar, maybe."

"More like tsunder-"

She socked me in the face. She wasn't trying to hurt me, but she made sure to shut me up before I could finish the sentiment. "I swear if you call me that again, I'll turn you to chum."

"Yeah, yeah. All right," I surrendered, tenderly stroking my chin.

"Tell me something, Lusca."

"Okay. So a mollusk and a sea cucumber are in a bar and…"

"Smart-ass."

"What do you want to know?"

"Do you really like Callie?"

"Of course."

"You _like_ her?"

"Yes."

"You _like like_ her?"

"Is there a point to this?"

Marie closed her eyes, resting her head on her hands. "Well, I suppose I could give you my blessing then."

"Your blessing?"

"Callie and I have had a pact for a long time. We're not allowed to date anyone without the other's blessing. That's just the rules, sorry."

I chuckled. "How many times have these rules actually come into play?"

"Just you."

"Right," I laughed. "Well, your blessing means a lot to me. Thanks."

Her golden eyes opened as she stared upward at the clouds, seagulls soaring overhead. "Seriously though, Lusca. If you hurt Callie, you know what'll happen, don't you?"

"Something equivalent to being strangled by my own tentacles?"

"To put it simply, if you break her heart, I'll break you."

I nodded in understanding. "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure where we are right now. I don't know if we're serious or casual or together or not. It's all so up in the air and this whole Old Ones business isn't helping at all."

"Well, as your best friend…"

"Giving yourself that title now, are you?"

"Shut up. As your best friend, I recommend finding out where you want to be first. So, Lusca, where would you like to be in this relationship, hmm?"

I considered it for a moment before laying down on the pier as well, hoping to find some inspiration in the sky, too. "Love is complicated."

She smirked. "Ah so you _love_ her now?"

"Really? Going to tease me in the middle of our heart felt talk? That's what this is has come to?"

"Of course, I'm your best friend."

I nudged her playfully. "You're Callie's too, you know? So...does that make me your best friend?"

"Nope."

"Oh really?"

"Yep. My best friend is Judd. He doesn't judge." I opened my mouth to protest before she quickly added, "Me. He doesn't judge me. Don't you dare think about being a smart ass again."

"So, what should I tell Callie?"

"Tell her the truth. You have feelings for her and you want to be with her."

"But what about the whole Octoling and Inkling thing? Shouldn't I take the danger to her into consideration too? What if they decide to throw you both in prison again because they think you're Octolings in disguise?"

Marie thought about it for a moment, tilting her head slightly to the side. "I think, she'd be willing to take that chance. Besides, we could always just keep you disguised. With your mask on, we'll just tell everyone you're our ninja body guard. Hua!" She gave me a playful chop to the chest.

"I'd much rather be a pirate."

"I will seriously kill you."

"Sorry." After a brief silence between us, I spoke up. "We know what...or who, Sil is."

She turned her head to regard me. "Oh?" Meeting her gaze, the seriousness caused her expression to sink. "It's not good, is it?"

"'Fraid not. She's Cthulu's daughter: Cthylla."

"Original."

"It gets weirder."

She laughed. "Weirder how?"

"She's pregnant." Silence. "With Cthulu." More silence.

"I can't wait for this to be over and done with."

"THere's more."

"God! How can there possible be more?"

"The Yellow Sign means that a Great Old One is basically manifested in my body. His name is Hastur. He's her half-uncle and Cthulu's half-brother."

"Welcome to the family, I guess?" She teased but I still remained quite. "Something _else_?!"

"Hastur is in an arranged marriage with Cthylla."

She took a deep sigh. "I swear, you have to be attracting all these women on purpose. There's no way it's all just accident and happenstance."

"I'm not even that attractive," I agreed. "My personality is nothing spectacular."

"You're a great kisser though."

"Do you even have a comparison?" Another punch to my face shut me up quick as I hissed. "Ow. Okay, fine. Sheesh. Thanks for the compliment."

"Is Callie mad?"

"About Cthylla?"

"About me."

"No. You know Callie. She gets mad, then she gets worried. The worry far overtakes the mad. The way I see it, no harm, no foul. If we head back to the shack, we can make it before dark and then Callie can stop being worried. Once this whole Cthulu thing is finally put to rest, then we can sit down together and have a nice long talk about everything."

She sighed, standing up and offering me her hand to help me to my feet. "Looking forward to it."

* * *

Steph shivered in the chill of the cold, tugging her vest closer around her small body. Night had begun to set and she had finally managed to make it out of Octovalley. Clambering up the pole beside her house, she swung into her room, landing smartly with a thud.

Immediately, she heard footsteps rushing towards her room and with an insane speed, she managed to shed her armor and gear, stowing it into a duffel bag and shoving it under her bed, before sitting on her bed innocently as the door came crashing open to reveal the frame of her mother and father. "There you are!" Her mother cried, rushing beside her to hug her tightly. "We were so worried about you!" A lie, Steph knew, but she just remained silent, not saying a word.

"See, told you the kid was fine," her father grumbled, taking another swig of his drink. Her mother glared over her shoulder at him.

"How can you say that? Who knows what could have happened? She could have been kidnapped or murdered or seriously hurt and we wouldn't have even known because _you_ refused to call the police!"

"Why would I call the police? She leaves the house all the damned time!" As the two of them began to bicker excessively, Steph's heart sank. This was how it always was. With a yawn, she rolled away from her parents as their argument travelled back and forth like a whirlwind, carrying them out of her room and down the stairs to drown their problems with a bottle.

Quietly, Steph walked to her door closing it before fetching the radio once more from the bag. Twisting the knob on the top it let out a crackle of static before she held the button. "Hello?" She asked, her voice soft and meek.

After a brief moment, Lusca's voice spoke back. "Hey there, Agent 3. How are you doing? Did you get home safe?"

She paused for a moment, clutching the radio tightly as she pondered what to say. She wanted to tell him everything the way she had told the Captain. She wanted to explain that nothing was okay and that she'd never be all right. Instead, she replied with a shy, "Mmhm."

"That's a relief. I'm sorry we can't be more help to you Agent 3. We've had a few mishaps on our side, too. I promise we're going to get Captain back."

"Okay."

"Hey. Steph?" She nodded, before realizing he couldn't see her head and quickly adding another affirmative to indicate she was listening. "I'm proud of you, squiddo. I'm glad to be on your team."

Her hearts thumped roughly as what little words she had suddenly were choked in her throat. It took her a few seconds before answering. "Really?"

"Of course. What you did today was amazing. I didn't think anyone could take on an Octarian war machine by themselves, but you did. I can honestly say that we are all impressed. The Captain's faith in you was not misplaced."

Behind her tears, Steph wore a big grin that she couldn't explain. Her parents had never taken an interest in her skills at Turf War. Never had they found pride in her accomplishments. She couldn't help but feel silly that a stranger telling her he was proud of her was what it took to make her cry tears of joy.

"Still there Steph?"

"Yes," she gasped, drawing her knees to her chest. "Thank you, Lusca. And don't worry, I'll keep fighting. There's more warmachines that need to be defeated, right?" It was the most she'd ever spoken to him, but somehow the words felt right.

"Are you up to it? Don't push yourself any harder than you have to, okay? The worst thing that could happen for us is to lose you."

Steph smiled, again, wiping her face with her hand to remove the leftover remnants of her tears. "I think you would still be able to rescue the Captain without me," she replied meekly.

There was a pause for a moment. Had her radio gone out? Checking that everything was working, she nearly dropped the thing when suddenly his voice crackled to life once more. "That's not what I'm concerned about. The Captain wouldn't like anyone being splatted on his behalf."

"Right," she answered shakily. "I'll do my best."

Just then, the door to her room burst open again. How had she not heard her parents argument stop? "Who are you talking to, huh?! Give me the radio and go to bed," her father growled snatching it from her grip.

"W-wait, don't…" she started before there was a loud clap and the harsh sting of her father's slap across her cheek. Immediately, she fell quiet her eyes lowering to the ground as she nursed her wound.

"Better," he snarled. "Now shut up and go to sleep. And if you even think about sneaking out again tomorrow, you'll regret it."

As the door to her room slammed shut, Steph sniffled, clutched her knees and rolled on to her side to stare out the window. She knew the punishments coming her way if she disobeyed, but Lusca, Callie, and Marie were all counting on her. Captain Cuttlefish, too. Someday, she swore, she'd become a real secret agent. The other agents would be her friends and they'd stick up for her when her parents were nasty and mean.

Closing her eyes, Steph began to fall asleep. In her dreams, she saw the many adventures that awaited her for the day she finally found her place amongst the rest of the Squidbeak Splatoon.

* * *

The fierce yellow eyes of the creature that had once been Major Miranda flowed through the subterranean excavations. Its fingers ran along the dripping stones that lined the old sewer, scraping long claws into the brick and mortar with a terrible hiss.

That was when it picked up the scent, the unmistakable stench of the eldritch Crest of Carcosa that had transformed her into what it was now. "Lu...sca…" she rasped, tapping on the brick deliberately with each step.

Every time her fingernail would tap a brick, it'd puncture a hole straight through it, causing the stone to wither and decay around it as it shuffled along. Its goal was clear: it was to serve the Yellow King and to ensure the vessel's will was lost. Hastur demanded obedience and the fact that his vessel had resisted the need to kill and consume Miranda was proof enough that he did not have it.

Lusca's scent still flooded the air around it, more than enough for tracking to the point that the creature found it almost suffocating. That was when it heard the sounds of something approaching and quickly crouched low to the ground, its body fading away against the brick to remain hidden.

A vagrant Octarian whistled to himself as he pushed a ragged cart along an offshoot pipe of the sewer. As the wheel squeaked from the excruciating strain of moving, he found himself wondering how many rats he could catch that night for dinner.

He hadn't gone far past the creature when it emerged from the shadows. Long black tentacles writhed hideously from its back, eager to make a sacrifice to its God. With a fierce hiss, the man turned, just barely in time to see the tentacles wrap about him holding him tightly in them as if a child holding a small creature.

He made muffled shouts of protest, trying to escape from the thing's deathgrip, but it simply smirked. Fangs slowly slid from their sheaths along the tentacles, embedding in the man's body. As it began to squeeze, tighter and tighter, the man's screams grew louder, unable to escape as his bones were snapped. He was slowly crushed, a torture equivalent to ripping off a bird's wings. The force expelled his blood into the gaping maws of the creature, causing the tongues inside to slurp noisily and eagerly.

"Meow."

The creature paused, turning slowly to gaze upon the small, chubby, cat that stood fiercely behind it. With a low growl, the creature flung the now exsanguinated corpse into the sewer and turned to face him.

"Meow." ( _Cease thine mission at once._ )

With a series of clicks and hisses, the creature slowly approached the cat. "You do not command me Ptar-Axtalan!"

"Meow," Judd replied sternly, not even blinking. "Meow, meow, me-ow." ( _Wrong. I am an Old One and as such an inferior being such as thou owes me respect and tribute. Continuing to disrespect me will be unfavorable for thouself. Stop chasing the Sign, or I will be forced to step in and end this myself.)_

"You will not interfere here. You are unable to. You know that if you were to reveal your true form, it would simply drive those who observed it mad. Your idle threats mean nothing."

Judd sighed before with a quick whip of his tail, a slice of air slashed straight through the tentacle of the creature, causing it to fall with a bloody plop to the sewer floor below where rats began to feast. "Meow?" ( _Are my threats so idle now?)_

"My Master will hear of this...transgression. You fear him as I do," the creature hissed in pain, able to feel every gnawing tooth that embedded into the flesh of the tentacle beneath it. "I swear to you Ptar-Axtalan, if you do not step aside, the wrath of Hastur and the Byakshee will befall you."

Judd's eyes narrowed, his tail swishing angrily behind him. The insufferableness of the abomination was beginning to wear thin on his patience. Finally, with another quick lash of his tail, a second tentacle was torn from its body. "Meow? Meow, meow-meow. Meeeow. Meow, meow nyan." ( _Foolish beast. Do you truly think The Leopard That Stalks The Night fears the Byakshee? They are like gnats attempting to harm an elephant in the way they throw themselves pitifully against me. I warn thou again Feaster From Afar, abandon thine task for the Sign and the girls. They are under my protection._ )

The creature let out a cackle. "You think you are capable of combatting The Great Dreamer? You?! A lesser Great Old One? He will chew you up and spit you out as if you were cud."

"Meow. Meow, meow meow, me-owmeowmeow. Mew meow nyan. Hiss." ( _Funny, that's what he said the last time I helped to seal him away. Tonight, I will take my leave instead of another one of your tentacles, but remember that regardless of who your master is, he will not save you from my wrath. He still must follow our law. Hiss.)_

With that statement, he turned away from The Feaster From Afar, leaving it to swat at the rats in frustration and anger to prevent them from consuming its now regenerating arms. Judd, whose true name was Ptar-Axtalan, had taken this cat's form when it stumbled upon his world almost thousands of years ago. Seeing Cthulu's wrath in the thing's memories, he arrived himself to shepherd the new population of the world. Thankfully, his plan worked. They put him in charge of determining the events of organized conflicts, no matter how big or small, and it was a job he took very seriously.

When Turf Wars were the way of the world, he guided heroes to victory and villains to defeat. When Cthulu woke again, he offered his assistance to the Squidbeak Splatoon to send back into the nether. When the Octarians betrayed their allies, it was he himself, the Leopard That Stalks the Night, who emerged from the shadows underground, unplugged the war machine, and watched as the tide of battle turned quickly upon the betrayers.

He knew it was odd to develop such feelings for the mortals as to protect them, but he enjoyed observing their quips and quarrels. It was bad enough that he'd made the mistake of assuming that Octavian had replaced them with spies, but after watching them, he felt even worse for his judgment. The new Crest-Bearer was not like his predecessor, as brilliant as Amoses was, yet his heart still intrigued him.

Normally, he'd have stayed out of such incidents as the one unfolding before his eyes, but he knew that the time was coming now where he'd have to interfere, otherwise the entirety of the world would be destroyed, along with his entertainment.

As he clambered out of Octovalley, he made his way through the streets, the lamps lighting his path though he had no need of them. Leaping on to the pillow, he curled up into a ball and slept. Unlike his kin, when he dreamed, he still kept watch.

To be continued...


	19. Chapter 19

An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 19

 **AN: Hello everyone! Sorry it took me so long to update this story. At any rate, we're coming towards the end. I do intend to finish the story I assure you. I know I've not much right to ask, but I've recently come into something of a financial bind. My job is only granting me part-time now, and I'm not going to make enough for living. I've set up a Pratreon under the name Kiba Elunal. You can find it by searching, and it'd be a massive help to pledge whatever you can. Even a dollar a month can mean a lot. If you don't have any money, that's fine. You can show your support simply by following my Pratreon for free. I'm going to be starting a new blog soon for Fanfiction. I'll be reading less popular fanfictions and giving them a full critique. There are rules which you can find on my Twitter: KibaElunal. I hope you enjoy. Thank you for all of your support. -Kiba**

I stood there absolutely stunned. Just as I was talking with Steph, I'd heard another voice followed by an audible slap across the transceiver. I tightened my fist as the man threatened her again. Was this her father? No, he was merely the man who conceived her. A true father wouldn't strike his child this way.

"Lusca, what's wrong?" Sheldon asked, a look of concern on his face. "You're very pale."

"I've got something to handle," I growled, moving towards the door.

"What are you going to do, Lusca? If it's something that may result in violence, you need to stay here. You cannot be trusted to control yourself. So long as you are marked…"

"Yeah, yeah. I know: possessed by an evil entity from the cosmos. Have you made any progress on the weapon?"

"Not yet, we still need a few things to complete the weapon."

"Great, get me a list and I'll fetch it while I'm out."

"Lusca…"

"What Sheldon?"

"What are you going to do?"

I paused, taking a moment to calm myself. Chaos breeds power, I reminded myself. "I'm going to get Agent 3. She's in trouble and needs my help. No violence, just a stealth mission. I'll even leave my guns here if it'll make you feel better."

Sheldon thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Yes. That would make me feel better."

"Fine," I agreed, placing them on the table before heading towards the door. "Are Callie and Marie still talking in the room?"

"Yes. I haven't heard any shouting yet, so that's a good sign. Cthylla hasn't seemed to advanced in condition either. We may still have time as long as we avoid any sort of disharmony among the team."

"The list, Sheldon," I reminded him.

"Oh right!" Quickly scribbling the components onto a piece of paper he passed it to me. "Normally, I'd be against any sort of stealing, but I imagine that this is far more important than someone's profits. If things get dicey though, just get out of there. Don't fight back, just leave."

"Got it," I grumbled, stuffing the list into my pocket and walking out the door. Soon, I was standing outside of Steph's home, staring up at her room's window. The lights were still on, but I didn't know if she was there.

Camouflaged, I scaled the drainpipe on the side of the house, silently opening her window and making my way inside. She lay on the bed, curled up into a ball. Soft sniffling sounds came from her hunched over figure as my eyes went to her bedroom door. I couldn't hear anybody coming from downstairs, so it didn't seem he'd been discovered.

He was in awe of her room. Covered from bottom to top were various posters and stickers, from Callie and Marie, to other bands like Squid Squad, Bob Dub, Chirpy Chips, and Hightide Era. Hanging from various surfaces were gold medals and she had a plethora of trophies on her shelves.

Leaning closer to one to read the inscription, I had to almost stifle a laugh. Her full name was Stephalopod? I could see why she preferred to keep it a secret now. Making my way back to her, I slowly placed my hand over her mouth, causing her to freeze as she tried to cry out. "Shh," I instructed her.

As my body regained visibility the panic in her eyes subceeded. Slowly removing my hand for her, she just stared up at me in complete shock that I was standing there beside her.

"Hey squiddo," I whispered. "I came to check on you. I heard what happened through the radio."

"Oh…" she murmured, her cheeks lighting up in embarrassment. "Sorry…"

"Sorry?"

"I...I can't fight...him."

"Your dad?"

She nodded. Steph knew that it was stupid. She could fight off entire battalions of enemy Octarian troops, but when it came to one Inkling: a stupid, slow, drunk Inkling, she froze up every time. Her hands shook, her body went rigid, and every attempt to move her limbs was completely ignored by her brain.

Despite Sheldon's warning, I had half a mind to go drag him out of whatever hole he was hiding in, but I managed to reign that impulse in. Instead, I smiled at Steph. "Hey, you want to get out of here?" I asked, nodding to the window.

"Wh-what?" she stammered in surprise, blushing even more.

"I've got a mission for us. Nothing too strenuous. Probably won't even see any action, but if I'm being perfectly honest with you, I'm a little scared of the dark. I'd be a lot better off with another agent at my side."

She knew I was lying. I could see it in her eyes the moment the words left my lips, but even still, she sheepishly agreed. Standing up from her bed, she quickly pulled out her trunk that she kept hidden beneath her bed. Putting on her gear, she went to the window before craning her head as if to listen for her parents.

When there was no sound, she slipped out the window and slid down the pipe before waiting for me in her lawn. Following after her, I pulled Sheldon's list from my pocket before offering it to her. "Now, I know you're normally a pretty good kid. Think you're up for a little mischief?"

She nodded, taking my hand with hers. I squeezed it reassuringly, heading down the street to begin our search for the components.

* * *

Sitting beside her cousin, Callie and Marie stayed huddled close together, their arms wrapped around one another in a loving embrace. "I was so worried about you," Callie whined as she nuzzled against her.

"I know, Callie," Marie replied patting her reassuringly on the back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you." Smiling, she pulled away from her cousin. "So...don't think I didn't notice."

"Notice what?"

"The hickey Lusca gave you," she giggled. "Getting pretty serious, are we?"

"Maybe," Callie blushed. "You're not mad, are you?"

"Mad? No, no. I've already given Lusca my blessing. I think you two make a good couple," she assured her. "Seriously."

"Thanks, Marie...that means a lot."

"You don't sound too thrilled by the news. Is something wrong?"

"Yes," she sighed. "I don't know if Lusca feels the same way. What if he doesn't want to...you know…"

"Stick around once all this is over?" Marie finished for her. The older popstar nodded somberly. "Well, as his best friend…"

"You're his best friend?"

"Shush. As his best friend, I can promise you, he is wondering the same thing. He's concerned about whether or not it will work too."

"But...if that's the case, then how can it possibly work out?"

Scratching her tentacles, Mari pondered the issue for a moment. "Well, you could always fake being pregnant," she suggested, causing Callie to shoot her a glare. "Kidding! I was kidding! Look, you really want to know how to make Lusca stick around?"

"Yes!"

"Tell him you want him to stick around. It's really not that complicated."

Callie gave a huff as she sank back on to the bed. "But what about…"

"Does it matter?" Marie asked. Callie quickly fell silent again. "See? Anytime you start to psych yourself out, just ask if it's more important to you than he is."

"But what if it's more important to him than I am?" she murmured.

"Callie, we've known him for a week. In that week, he has betrayed his people, killed his fellow soldiers, and even took on the entire police force! Do you know why?"

She shook her head, her long black tentacles swirling around her.

"You're so oblivious," Marie groaned. "He did it for _you_ , Callie. He's always been crazy about you, even if you don't believe it, even if he won't admit it, it's obvious! You redirected that Ink Strike and you showed him sympathy and you were the one who stuck up for him every time something happened. You have jumped to protect him at every turn, even from _me_! He loves you, Callie. And I think you love him, too."

Callie's hearts pounded in her chest at her cousin's words. Did she really? In her chest, she could feel her very soul saying that she did. But in addition to that certainty there was the fear. There was the worry that he, while having done all of the things Marie said, also would slowly lose interest in her.

"Yes," she finally breathed. "I do love him. I wish that none of this stuff had ever happened, but if we fail…"

"Don't talk like that, Callie."

"No Marie. Seriously. If we fail...I'd die knowing that I was glad to get to spend at least a week with him. I just hope that I don't lose the Lusca that I love to this stupid mark."

"Well, if you're that worried about it, why not go talk to him? He's right outside."

"Y-yeah! I should go talk to him," she grinned brightly.

"That's the spirit!"

Callie tore open the door, her golden eyes sparkling brightly only to find that the living room was empty, save Sheldon and Cthylla. "Sheldon? Where's Lusca?"

"He went out," he replied nonchalantly, tinkering with whatever device he was working on. "He said he had something important to do, and that he'd bring me back supplies once he got back. He didn't really specify where."

"And you let him?!" Callie cried in a panic, running for her gear. "I'm going to go find him! Marie can you stay here with Sheldon and Cthylla?"

"Gotcha," she replied, sinking onto a loveseat and opening a magazine.

"Wait, Callie!"

"You won't stop me, Sheldon! Who knows what could happen if he's alone! For all we know that mark may overtake him completely and he'll be gone forever. I have to make sure he's safe." Before the horseshoe crab could protest further, Callie had already bounded out the door, disguised and in her notorious tracking mode.

Noting the crab was half-tempted to run after her, Marie reminded him, "Chaos among the team makes things worse, Sheldon. Best to just let her go."

* * *

Agent 3 couldn't keep herself from smiling as we strolled along the road in the moonlight. I wanted to try to make some sort of conversation with her. "So, I saw you really like music," I noted, unsure where even I was going with the topic. "You must have been pretty thrilled to find out you were working with Callie and Marie, right?"

"Yes," she admitted quietly. "They are my favorite."

"Understandable," I mused. "Do you ever go to their concerts?"

"I've been to every single one," she beamed.

"Oh really?"

"Yes."

"You know the one where their power cut out after the first song?"

"Yes?"

"That was me. I was powering their concert, but I got sick. They had to leave because they were rushing me back to Captain Cuttlefish for treatment. Pretty amazing of them considering I was their enemy."

"Why?"

I blinked. "Why what?"

"Why were you their enemy?"

I scratched my newly formed tentacles, thinking how best to explain. "Well, you know the story of the Octarians and the Inklings, right? I don't know how long you've been working for the Captain, but I assume you're sent on raids to get Zapfish."

"Yes. There was a war and the Inklings were losing. But then someone unplugged the Octarian war machine and the Inklings won and drove them underground."

"Very accurate. When we were driven underground, we struggled to survive. At first, we had plenty of zapfish, but as time went on and Inkopolis and Octo Valley grew in size, we had something of a miniature war start. Inkopolis wanted more Zapfish, Octo Valley wanted more Zapfish. I've no idea who stole the first one from the other side, but soon we were going back and forth. Only problem is, it was a rather one-sided fight. A handful of Inklings are easy to get undetected through our defenses. The same can't be said of an Octarian Battle Vehicle. Our leader became desperate, so he began drafting us. That's what happened to me."

"Lusca?"

"Hmm?"

Her eyes were angled at her feet as she fidgeted nervously with her skirt. "Do you...hate Inklings?"

I was completely shocked by the question, more so because it accurately captured the entire struggle I'd experienced over the week. "To be honest, squiddo...if you'd asked me that a week ago, the answer would probably have been, 'yes'."

"But…?" she led hopefully.

I smiled at her. "But, then I fell in love. In Octo Valley, there is a lot of propaganda about Inklings. Most of it is nonsense, and we know it. Like that you don't have brains or that you eat our babies and what not. Some of it though...some of it makes sense, or at least it did. We were always taught that the Inklings were enemies and that everyone on the surface was plotting to destroy us. They stole our zapfish not because they needed them, but because they wanted us to suffer more."

"You fell in love?" she asked, her eyes wide and sparkling. Funny, I wouldn't have pegged her for a romantic. "With who?"

"With Callie," I grinned. "I met them when they came to take a zapfish to power their concert. I tried to stop them, but they'd tricked me and cut my inkline. They asked me to point out the zapfish's location in return for my release. I thought I was being clever, by sending them into the city."

"What happened?"

"Turns out, their map was the guidance system for an Inkstrike. They were going to use the explosion to pinpoint the direction to go. When I realized it, I begged them to abort the strike. Thousands of innocent Octarians would have died."

"So I did," a voice said behind us, causing us to wheel about in surprise. Standing there in her disguise was Callie, a big grin on her face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your story," she giggled.

"Callie, what are you doing here?" I asked. When she frowned, I quickly added, "Not that I'm not happy to see you."

That seemed to cheer her up as she came to my other side to nudge me with her hips. "I wanted to come and make sure you didn't get into any more trouble. What are you two up to? Telling the story of how we first met?"

"Lusca's in love," Steph explained, causing Callie's eyes to sparkle as she looked at me.

"Oh, is he?"

Realizing her snafu, Agent 3 immediately fell quiet again. "Well...that cat's out of the bag, now," I said nervously.

"Say it."

"What?"

"I want to hear you say it," she repeated, poking my cheek. "Please?"

Now I was really blushing. Clearing my throat, I couldn't believe how nervous I felt all of a sudden. "I...love you," I muttered under my breath.

"Sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you," Callie giggled.

I took a deep breath before staring directly into her bright golden eyes. "Callie Cuttlefish...I love you. I love you very much."

Her grin grew even bigger as Steph looked from one of us to the other curious to see what would happen next. Callie, draped her arms around my neck, resting her forehead against mine. "Lusca Who's-Last-Name-I-Can't-Remember, I love you, too. I also love you very much." With that, she leaned closer, pressing her lips against mine.

As we parted, I saw the wide-eyed Steph staring in awe at the two of us. "What's up with you?" I scoffed, embarrassed.

"So cute!" she whined sending Callie into another giggling fit.

"That's what Lusca first said about you too, Agent 3."

Almost immediately, Steph became incredibly flustered. "N-no! I'm not…"

"You totally are," I teased, thankful to have the spotlight thrown on someone else. "Seriously though, doesn't your boyfriend think you're cute?"

"I...don't have a boyfriend…"

"Oh?" Callie asked, catching on to my teasing. "That's odd? I could have sworn you had a crush on whats-his-name. The one you're always hanging around at the tournaments?"

"T-tako?! N-n-no, we're just friends!" she stammered her cheeks now bright blue in embarrassment.

"Riiiight," I teased, until I noticed that she was starting to tear up. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"We...we are just friends," she sniffled. "I wouldn't...I don't…"

"Woah, woah, it's okay Steph," I assured her. "We were just teasing you. If you say you don't have a crush on him, we believe you. Okay?"

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong. If you don't mind, why were you so upset?"

"Feel free not to answer that," I added.

Nudging the ground with her foot, she meekly replied, "I'm not allowed to talk to boys."

Another pang of anger flushed through me. What was up with her parents? Noticing my expression, Callie quickly squeezed my hand to calm me down. She was worried about the mark, understandably.

"Well, I can honestly say Steph, that if I were Tako, I'd probably have a crush on you." She blushed again before clearing her throat and offering me the list as a reminder of our mission. "Oh, right. Thanks. Hey Callie, want to help us pull off a robbery? We're going to go steal some stuff for Sheldon."

"Sure, sounds like fun," she beamed, following us as we made our preparations.

When we reached the electronic store, the three of us were in our disguises and ready for our first major crime. Well, their first major crime. Moving around to the side of the building, I opened up the panel and cut the power, deactivating the security cameras and alarms. Flashing the two girls a thumbs up, Steph sprayed a trail of ink up the wall, allowing her and Callie to swim up it. I stayed on the ground, cloaked and keeping watch out for any signs of trouble.

On the rooftops, the two stood around the entry point: an A/C duct wide enough for them to fit through in squid form. With the security measures disabled, the typical anti-burglary measures wouldn't even slow them down.

As they slipped through the vents, Callie's tentacle again got caught, causing her to squirm before finally falling with a thud on to the ground. "Are you okay?" Steph asked, helping her to her feet.

"Y-yeah, I'm just a ditz," Callie answered. Picking up her radio, she pushed the button. "Hey Lusca, we're in. Any sign of life out there? Over."

"Not yet. Over."

"Good. Over and out." Tucking the radio back on her belt, she began gathering the items on the list as Steph trailed in her wake.

"Can you tell me the rest of the story?" she finally asked.

"Hmm? What story?"

"The one of how you and Lusca, met."

"Oh! Yeah, I guess so. So, after I aborted the inkstrike, we captured Lusca to make him lead us to the zapfish. I was trying to be nice and talk to him, but Marie and I had an argument about it. Because of that, he managed to sneak away. He prepared an ambush for us when we got to the zapfish, and he managed to shut down our weapons. It was just us three, and we thought he was going to kill us, but instead he offered a trade: he'd power our concert if we promised not to take the zapfish. Lusca has the ability to store electricity in his body, kind of like a battery, so he absorbed some from the zapfish and came with us as our prisoner."

"He told me about the concert. Was he the guard who let you go when you were captured by Octarians?"

Callie giggled. 'We were never captured by Octarians," she confessed. "While he was helping us with the concert, he lost one of his tentacles and Judd found it. He thought Octarians had disguised themselves and swapped places with us, so we were arrested for treason. They were going to just lock us up in Octanamo Bay, but Lusca mounted a rescue and got us out." Her smile then faded as she recalled some of the events. "It didn't go as planned. One of the guards there was cruel and told Lusca on the radio that if Lusca didn't stand down, he'd kill Marie and I. So, when they fought, Lusca killed him. It was something that really bothered him...and me."

Steph could feel the hurt coming from Callie, so she quickly tried to move her along. "Then what happened? You had the free concert, right? With the water?"

The popstar beamed. "That was Lusca, too. A squad of Octolings found out he was still here, so they wanted to assassinate us by mixing toxic ink powder into the water. It was supposed to be confetti, by the way."

"But he stopped them, right?" Steph asked excitedly.

"Sort of. Originally, he was going to help them but at the last second, he changed his mind. He had to fight off his entire team, until he actually killed all of them, but one. We caught him red-handed with the ink pack, so we couldn't trust him. We locked him up at Gramps' house. To make a long story short, things were a little rocky, then things got weird, and now...well, things are still weird, but at least I still have Lusca."

"Wow," Agent 3 whispered. "Does Marie still hate Lusca?"

"In her own way, Marie probably loves Lusca more than I do," she admitted. "She was always suspicious of him, but at the same time, the two of them really connected. He even saved her life once. She ended up having a huge crush on him, but he wasn't interested in her. Though he did steal her first kiss."

"Really?" Steph squealed. "But...I thought he liked you."

"At first, he had a hard time choosing," Callie admitted. "But then I was injured, and he came to talk to me. When I found out they kissed, it really made me sad, because I had a crush on him, too. He told me that it didn't mean anything though, and it didn't, but that was when he kissed me for the first time." Remembering the moment, she blushed brightly. "It was the most wonderful kiss I'd ever gotten."

The younger agent just smiled softly as she gathered the last of the parts. Making their way back out of the store, they rejoined me on the street. "Great work guys, now let's head back and…" I paused suddenly going rigid.

"Lusca?" Callie asked. "What's wrong?"

I said nothing, but one look into my eyes told Cally that we had trouble coming. The bright yellow of my irises were practically glowing in the darkness. "Take Steph and get back to Sheldon, now," I commanded.

"What is it? What's coming?"

"Trouble. Just get out of here. If I come with you it'll follow us."

"Well, at least take my gun," she argued, starting to take off her pack, but I quickly pushed it back towards her.

"No, that's what it wants. If I'm violent, then I'll lose more control. This thing works for the crest. I can feel it. Don't worry, I'll figure something out."

"Okay," she agreed in a hushed tone. Reluctantly, she took Agent 3 by the hand and ran with her back towards the cottage.

Now that they were to safety, I disguised myself, slipping through the alleyways in order to try to locate the thing that had popped up on my strange radar sense. I wanted to ensure that we bumped into each other on my terms, rather than its.

Making my way through the shadows, I could hear footsteps coming my direction. Changing my course, I began to lure it towards Inkopolis Plaza. The more open area I got, the more mobility I'd have over the thing.

Considering the time, the streets were absolutely empty. I couldn't sense a single soul save the creature following me. Blending in with my surroundings I waited patiently for my pursuer to arrive. _Alright Lusca, strategies? Can't fight with it. Can't hide from it, most likely. Running will just bring danger to the others. So, plans?_ My eyes flowed up the large tower beside the Inkopolis News Station.

Maybe I could lure it up there and just...shove it off? Somehow I doubted it would be so simple, not to mention if this thing was anything like Inklings or Octolings, it'd just land with a plop and be perfectly fine.

It was approaching now. It would be here any second. My current wasn't much. I probably couldn't fry it if I wanted to, and I really didn't want to. Even if I managed to survive, Callie and Marie would be absolutely furious for doing something so risky. Maybe Cthylla...no. I wasn't involving anyone else in this.

It was coming around the corner now. I braced myself for my enemy. I didn't want to fight, but surely defending myself couldn't hurt? I just had to find a way to keep my head. Easier said than done.

My hearts pounded in my chest as the figure rounded the corner to reveal Major Miranda and she was unarmed. Walking forward into the plaza, I removed my camouflage. "Miranda," I growled. "What do you want with me?"

Her head turned towards me very slowly, her eyes glowing a piercing yellow. "Lusca…" she murmured, almost like a whisper. "I've found you."

Something was very wrong here. She looked like Miranda, but something about her seemed incredibly off. "What do you want?" I repeated.

She walked towards me, keeping absolutely silent as her arm raised out towards me in a beckoning motion. "Come to me," she requested. "Fulfill your purpose."

"You're working for _him_ aren't you?!" I demanded. "For Hastur? When we fought last, you got a piece of the mark. That's why I've become more lucid."

"He is our master," she explained softly. "I know what you fear...but he is not your enemy," she swore, coming ever closer. Her fingers trailed delicately on the handrail as she circled me. She didn't seem to be advancing. "He hates the Destroyer, just as you do, Lusca. He too does not wish to see this realm ended."

"Then what does he want?" I demanded.

"To protect this place. He wishes to keep it safe from all outside invaders, and he has selected you, by divine mercy and glory to craft you into his vessel, but still you resist. You could have the whole world, just by giving in to the mark's power."

"It wouldn't be me."

"A small sacrifice for the greater good," she breathed. "That's what you're about, right? Sacrificing yourself for those you care about. That's why you sent the other two away, isn't it?"

"I swear, if you go after Callie, I'll…"

"Peace, Lusca. Comply and I swear to you, she will not be harmed. You will be able to bring her to your side as the leader of this new world. You would be their King, and her their Queen. Is that not what you want?"

"Meow, meow, hiss." ( _Do not listen to this foul creature's lies, Lusca! She is 'That-Which-Hunts-From-Afar'. A slave to Hastur and leader of the Byakshee. She seeks to twist your mind and force you under her Master's whim.)_

"Judd?" I snapped in shock. I hadn't even sensed his arrival. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, poor thing...it seems he is hungry," Miranda cooed. Realizing that Lusca could not understand him was something she intended to capitalize on. "Come, Lusca. Let us get something to eat for this beast."

With a flick of Judd's tail, Miranda's arm hurtled through the air to land with a sickening thud on the ground, much to Lusca's horror. "Meow, meow, hiss, meow." ( _I swear to you Lusca, I am on your side. Focus on me clearly that you may hear my words. I cannot protect you from her for long. If you care for the Sisters, you must fight._ )

How was I going to protect Judd and myself from Miranda without fighting? Something had sliced off her arm, too. Did that mean Cthulu's forces were nearby also. Lusca began to feel very afraid. Right now, his best option seemed to be running, but if he ran, he knew it would only be a matter of time before the the thing that was once Miranda would catch up with him. His first priority would be getting Judd to safety. After that...well, he didn't know what he would do.

To be continued...


	20. Update

**AN: Hey everyone! So I didn't manage to get 12 reviews on my book, but no need to fret. All of the messages of support that I've received from you have been a huge help to me, even overpowering some of the more...colorful...ones. Even just buying my book really gives me a leg up. Thank you so much to those of you who donated to my Patron or to pay pal. I will continue uploading over time, and while it will still be slow, rest assured that I am grateful to have you all behind me. My book is still on Amazon if you'd like to get a copy. I know that's difficult for a lot of you, being young and not having any way to really order anything online. Special thanks to Waddlebuff, Jonathan Boterf, and Austin Nadworny for your generous contributions. They truly mean more to me than I can hope to describe. I hope you continue to enjoy my work. I will strive to keep everyone updated on my situation as I go. And to the one guy who keeps sending me insulting messages and telling me to kill my self...Thank you for reading my stories :) Your support is greatly appreciated. I wish everyone the best of luck in life and literature. -Kiba**


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